It's been a long time since I've seen Good Old War with all three original members - I think I must have been seventeen, cramped in the basement of First Unitarian Church when they were touring with You Won't. That's more than three years, and that was probably my first real concert, too. Right before Broken Into Better Shape's 2015 release, the band announced drummer Tim Arnold would be leaving, and whether it was temporary or permanent was up in the air. I was crushed. Heartbroken (into better shape?). I thought, at least I got to see them once. At least it was a great show.

But of course, Keith and Dan would make sure their new release would be fantastic, and it was. Broken Into Better Shape holds some of my favorite songs, and the change in sound and style was exciting and - almost - enough to make me forget that the band wasn't completely whole.

I'm pretty sure it was subtly mentioned in an Instagram post that Tim might be rejoining for 2017's fall releases. In typical Good Old War fashion, it was probably in a bizarre video of Tim doing something so himself to announce his return. My hopes were up, and I was ecstatic that my favorite trio would be back together again.

If you remember back in June, Dylan and I eagerly made the drive up to Langhorne, PA, renowned Good Old War territory, for a press photoshoot at their home studio. While Dylan is solely responsible for all the work we did that day, I think I'm responsible for the most oh my god's whispered under my breath as I actually got to sit and watch Keith, Dan, and Tim (!!!) rehearse old favorites in their basement. Tim easily fell back into his role like no time had passed. Dream come true or what?

If you've had a chance to catch Good Old War on their current tour, that poster that's plastered all over the venue is Dylan's photo, and I couldn't be prouder.

On August 3rd, the guys played their hometown show at World Cafe Live, and like I've said so many times, there's nothing like a homecoming. Philly's just the best. I'm so in love with everything about it, and standing in a crowd that is literally home to the band in front of you is just an incomparable feeling.

They graced us with some new songs off of Part of Me, the first of three EP's set to release on September 1st. Even though the single "Part of Me" has been on Spotify for about two weeks, I still had no idea what to expect from these new songs. What I'd already heard was beautiful and reminiscent of old tunes, so I at least knew I wouldn't be disappointed.

But oh, my god.

This EP is going to be a game-changer.

They played "The River," and I was completely blown away. Everything classic GOW is there, but there's something else. There's an excitement, an easy comfort in this song, and it gives me the feeling of something so hopeful, and so right because it was written by the three of them again. It's a breathtakingly beautiful song, and I won't be able to wait three more weeks for it to be released.

As they sang, "We've got skills but we're living on love; I think we're doing just fine," I knew that that was going to be the mantra for this new series of EPs. That was going to be the resounding line that probably got Tim back to where he is now, where he should have been all along. Right here. They've got skills but they're living on the love they have for each other.

And they're doing just fine.

If you're lucky enough to catch the end of the tour, go. These guys are a ridiculous amount of fun, and I love them to death. I'm (im)patiently waiting for September 1st, but in the meantime, I'll just stream the single "Part of Me" everywhere now!

Good Old War Reunites for "Part of Me"

PHILLY LIVE

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