Combining a fragile sound with compelling, intelligent lyrics resembling a kind of indie hip-hop is what’s made US band Listener an underground favourite for over a decade.
Initially performing in homes around North America and Europe, it’s the raw honesty emanating from frontman Dan Smith that’s brought the band international attention.
The song that caught me was There Are Wrecking Balls Inside Us. Smith sings about destructive isolation; about our tendency to destroy. Yet it is not a message of grief, but one of hope. Sometimes we must tear down, for it’s in the rebuilding that we grow stronger. This is the nature of the wrecking balls that dwell inside of us. In the rebuilding, we return to our roots, remember what we want, what we need, and start growing again. This time, we may just succeed.
Smith puts it best: “There will never be exactly perfect seas to set sail on. So, sister, the water is waiting, and, brother, we all might drown. But if we dive on out together, and not just wonder if we’ll ever grow, we’ll be free forever, and stop all this wandering around.”