Review / 200 Words Or Less
Traveler
Going Home

Independent (2011) Sarah

Traveler – Going Home cover artwork
Traveler – Going Home — Independent, 2011

All right, Traveler don't waste time, so neither will I. The Cleveland punk/melodic hardcore group write short, enjoyable pieces that are stripped down to their absolute bare essentials. The four tracks of their debut EP Going Home take only around seven minutes of your time to listen to. The songs are chock full of happy melodies, major chords, and general jubilance that work well alongside their vocalist's screams. They create a really lighthearted mood that makes it very easy to sit back and enjoy yourself. If only it didn't end so quickly--don't lose your focus on the album for too long, because it's over before you know it. Traveler aren't bringing anything new to the table either; this is stuff you could hear from pretty much any melodic hardcore band. But what they do, they do well, and it's clear they're happy making this music. And it'll certainly make you happy to hear it, too. It may be nothing new or noteworthy, but it's an enjoyable diversion nonetheless. It's also available for free download, so you have nothing to lose by grabbing it. And by now the first track of the album is already over.

4.0 / 10Sarah • January 2, 2012

Traveler – Going Home cover artwork
Traveler – Going Home — Independent, 2011

Related features

The Immortal Samsara Travelers

One Question Interviews • February 26, 2026

Recently-posted album reviews

Sahan Jayasuriya

Don’t Say Please: The Oral History of Die Kreuzen
Feral House (2026)

For those of us who spent the mid-to-late 1980s navigating basement community halls, churches, and loveable, armpit-smelling dive bars, the name Die Kreuzen was a permanent fixture on the punk rock radar. They were the sound of the Midwest underground --too fast for the goths to do their spooky Bela Lugosi "shoo the bats away" interpretive dance, too technical for … Read more

Sewer Urchin

Global Urination
Independent (2025)

There’s a fine line between crossover thrash that feels dangerous and crossover thrash that just feels like a party. Global Urination doesn’t bother choosing because it does both loudly and without apology. St. Louis’ Sewer Urchin have been grinding since 2019, and on their latest full length they double down on everything that makes the genre work. They give us … Read more

Ingested

Denigration
Metal Blade (2026)

For a band that built its name on sheer brutality, Ingested have spent the last several years refining what that brutality actually means. With their newest release, Denigration, the band finds that continuing evolution. They’re still punishing, still precise, but noticeably more controlled and deliberate in how it all lands. From the outset, the record makes its intentions clear. “Dragged … Read more