Listener

Listener is an indie rock/spoken word project from Fayetteville, Arkansas that began in 2002. The project is based around lyricist/vocalist/multi-instrumentalist Dan Smith, who initially used the name as a moniker for his early hip-hop based work. As his career progressed, he retained the name as it evolved into a full-fledged rock band. He has worked with a number of musicians since, all under the band name Listener. After incorporating live instrumentation behind him, Listener evolved from a hip-hop project into their now-signature sound. Their songs are structured around Dan Smith reciting (not singing) his spoken word pieces, with an instrumental background that builds and falls with the song as needed. They've crafted a unique sound for themselves, which has been quite influential in the past few years.

Below is only a partial discography, since it is quite hard to track down all their releases (especially their earliest work, pre-spoken word jam band). So, if you have anything that's missing from below (their first three albums, in particular) please send it my way! Thanks so much to Juan for sending them to me! Enjoy.

Whispermoon (2003)

1. The Moon Cries Out

2. FYI

3. You're So Underground

4. Emotional

5. Winter Life

6. Train Song

7. Decadence

8. I'm Beginning To Hear Whispers

9. Ways Of The Wind

10. You Will Be My Music

11. Behind These Doors

12. Wundering

13. Crystal Methods

14. It's A Lonely World

15. Untitled

Ozark Empire (2005)

1. Backwoods Preacher Man

2. Ozark Empire

3. I've Been Waiting For This Moment For All My Life, Hold On

4. In The Woods You Know Where Your Enemies Are

5. You're So Special Because You're So Unique

6. I'd Like To Offer You My Dearest Apologies

7. When No One Else Will Be Your Friend I Will Do The Job

8. The Music That The Angels Do

9. It's Time For Drastic Measures They're Not Taking You Seriously

10. What Would You Do If I'm Not What I'm Supposed To Be

11. They Always Say Your Life Will Never Dull Or Your Money Back

12. Officer You Have The Wrong Man I Am Not That Man

Just In Time For Christmas (2005)

1. Its Christmas Time Again, So Come On Home To The Fire

2. You Know He Knows? Well, He Knows Regardless

3. Do You See What I See? I Hope So

4. Hey, Those Herald Angels Are Singing Again. Listen

5. Born In Bethlehem, And He Shall Send Them One By One

6. Don't Touch The Drums Boy

7. Silent Night, Holy Night. All Is Bright, All Is Bright

8. The Leaf Sure Is Heavy, But You Have To Turn It Over feat. Manchild

Talk Music (2006)

1. We March To A Whole Different Drum (Live)

2. Ozark Empire, Or Snake Oil Salesman

3. Stick This In Your Ear (Live)

4. Your Life Will Never Dull Or Your Money Back

5. The Music That The Angels Do (Live)

6. Train Song (Live)

7. I Have Nothing But Attention When I Scream

8. Deepspace5 Songs (Live)

9. Mourning In The Morning

10. That's It

11. Life Is

12. Older Than I Was Before

13. ABC News Tour Of Homes Desk Banter

14. What Would You Do If I'm Not What I'm Supposed To Be (Live)

15. All Of This With Words

Not Waving, Drowning (2007)

1. You Have Never Lived Because You Have Never Died

2. Falling In Love With Glaciers

3. Seatbelt Hands

4. Failing Is Not Just For Failures

5. You Were A House On Fire

6. Save Up Your Hopes Friends

7. Maybe We Are All Beautiful

8. I'd Like To Offer You My Dearest Apologies

9. Death By Shotgun

10. Put Another Rock In My Hand

11. Stick This In Your Ear

12. The Music That The Angels Do

13. This Is It

Train Songs (2009)

1. Train Song (fienix)

2. Train Song (live)

3. Train Song (dust)

4. Train Song (spoken)

5. Train Song (original)

Return To Struggleville (2009)

1. Death By Shotgun

2. A Song From A Knife Salesman To His Wife On Their Wedding Day

3. It's Time For Drastic Measures They're Not Taking You Seriously

4. The Music That The Angels Do

5. My Five Year Plan

6. What Would You Do If I'm Not What I'm Supposed To Be

7. I Have Nothing But Attention When I Scream

8. Ozark Empire, Or A Snake Oil Salesman Comes To Your Town

9. Your Life Will Never Dull Or Your Money Back

10. When No One Else Will Be Your Friend I Will Do The Job

11. Officer You Have The Wrong Man, I Am Not That Man

Wooden Heart (2010)

1. You Have Never Lived Because You Have Never Died

2. I Don't Want to Live Forever

3. Most Roads Lead to Home

4. Wooden Heart

5. Falling In Love With Glaciers

6. Failing Is Not Just For Failures

7. Building Better Bridges

8. Seatbelt Hands

9. These Hands Weren't Meant For Us

10. You Were A House On Fire

11. Save Up Your Hopes Friends

Time Is A Machine (2013)

1. Eyes To The Ground For Change

2. Good News First

3. Not Today

4. Tornadoes

5. I Think It's Called Survival

6. Everything Sleeps

7. There Are Wrecking Balls Inside Us

8. It Will All Happen The Way It Should

Being Empty : Being Filled (2018)

1. Pent Up Genes

2. Little Folded Fingers

3. There's Money In The Walls

4. Add Blue

5. Bloodshot/New Love

6. Shock And Value

7. Window To The World

8. A Love Letter To Detroit

9. Manhattan Projects

10. Plague Doctor

The Hope And The Failure

In keeping up with the last few posts of bands that are long overdue for posts, here's The Hope And The Failure. They were a four-piece screamo/hardcore/post-rock band from Stockholm, Sweden that released one album, which was 2005's The Lights Are On But This Dance Never Ends. Though comparisons could be made to bands like Envy and City Of Caterpillar, The Hope And The Failure really establish their own ground throughout these six songs. For one, the dynamics build and crash, making for a gruelling catharsis, featuring quiet, spoken-word sections that build and explode into explosive climaxes. Vocalist Ina really holds her own throughout both, being able to quietly whisper the spoken sections atop some gorgeous guitar melodies, and harshly scream against the walls of distortion. The band is brimming with passion, which is very audible, and makes for an emotional half hour of listening. Their last.fm has a pretty thorough bio on them, so check that out too. Enjoy.

The Lights Are On But This Dance Never Ends (2005)

1. Intro

2. Violet

3. I'm Really Glad He Didn't Say That Cause Freddie Mercury Is Fucking Dead

4. The Lights Are On

5. Embrace

6. Prozac Hell

Heavy Weather/The Hope And The Failure (2016)

1. Heavy Weather - A Slow Rant About Distance

2. The Hope And The Failure - I Lost Myself In The Hours I Wasted On You

Hotel Books

Hotel Books is a spoken-word project started by Cam Smith in Porterville, California in 2011. Their music is based on Smith's poetry, which is read over some ambient/indie instrumentals, which usually consists of some clean, noodly guitar sounds that are pretty commonplace for emo/math rock-esque bands. Hotel Books are definitely comparable to Listener, since they share the same basic concept of spoken word being accompanied by gentle instrumentals. Cam Smith's vocal delivery is also pretty similar to Dan Smith's. In all honesty, I'm not really into this band. Not that there's anything really wrong with them, I could just cannot get into them. However, they are by far one of the most requested bands I get, and their discography is small, so I see no reason not to share them with those of you looking for them. Enjoy.

Everything We Could Have Done Differently (2013)

1. Sometimes I Feel Like Nothing

2. Nothing Ever Changes

3. Changes Consume Me

4. I Always Thought I Would Be Okay

5. I Never Thought I Would Be Okay

6. Ghosts Can't Love (Part I)

7. MM/DD/YYYY (Part II)

8. Beliefs [Upon Contact]

9. Books [Anti- What Have You]

10. Car Crash

11. Boundless [MMXII Minus Two]

12. All My Friends Are Trees (Part III)

13. Faithless [Am I]

14. Hollow Light / Hollow Lover

15. Empty Courage / Empty Heart

I'm Almost Happy Here, But I Never Feel At Home (2014)

1. Lose One Friend

2. Lose All Friends

3. Lose Yourself

4. Constant Collapse

5. Dreaming or Sinking

6. Two Eight One

7. America's Next Top Model

8. Cult Leader

9. Nicole

10. Lungs

11. Car Crash

Run Wild, Young Beauty (2015)

1. Run Wild, Young Beauty

2. Constant Conclusions

3. July (Part One)

4. I Died With You

5. Nothing Was Different

6. Love Life, Let Go (feat. JT Woodruff)

7. 813 Maryland St.

8. Wooden Floorboards

9. Two Steps Back

10. Nothing Was The Same

11. August (Part Two)

12. Ten Steps Forward

Run Wild, Stay Alive (2016)

1. Every Day, The Same

2. I Think You See Where This Is Headed

3. Where We Sleep Is Where We Dream

4. Constant Conflicts

5. Saltwater For Blood

6. Lesser

7. Friendly Crossfire

8. Can You Do Me A Kindness?

9. Alcoholocaust

10. Broke Love

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Navio Forge

Navio Forge were a four-piece emo/hardcore band from the Bay Area, California, that were really only around for a year, 1993. They only played a total of two shows, which were both at the legendary Gilman Street. Despite that, they've become a very well-known name in the development of emotional hardcore/screamo/whatever you want to call it. This is mostly due to their sole record, As We Quietly Burn A Hole Into.... Navio Forge took what was happening with DC/Dischord in the late 80's and pushed it to its boundary. Their songs really retained an element of hardcore a lot of their peers were slightly eschewing in favour of quieter and more dynamic parts. Though they did still make use of spoken word, their instrumentals rarely relax. Navio Forge went full-force on every song, with distorted, chaotic guitars, ripping bass riffs, and beating drums. Their vocals are shredded in anger and distraught, which comes to a climax at the end of "Haloed Eyes", when he literally begins crying. This could be excessive to some, but is pretty much what put Navio Forge on the map, so evidently some must love it. Enjoy,

As We Quietly Burn A Hole Into... (1993)

1. Hate Machine

2. Yellow And Fed

3. Manufactured Images Of Jesus Christ

4. Weaponizing

5. A Hole Into

6. Haloed Eyes

CityCop

CityCop are a four-piece band from Ashtabula/Akron, Ohio, that formed in 2010. They are probably the most prominent (and maybe only) acoustic screamo band around. Yes, you read that right. Acoustic screamo. All the drum blasts and frantic guitars are still present, just done on an acoustic guitar instead. As you can imagine, it's a unique sound. The vocals are as one would expect from a modern screamo band, and CityCop find their sound fitting in with bands like The Saddest Landscape and Old Gray. However, CityCop certainly have some elements that differentiate them. For one, the vocals are sometimes sung, and sometimes spoken (in a Listener sort of way). The guitars also include some math rock-esque parts, often getting intricate in addition to melodic. In their short time, they've evolved a lot, and have become an incredibly solid and commendable force within their genre. Any fan of modern screamo or post-hardcore must have heard of them by now, since their name has been thrown around for so long, but only recently have they been getting a lot of attention very quickly, and for good reason. This is a band that I'm sure a ton of people who frequent this site would like, so do check them out. Enjoy.

The Hope In Forgiving & Giving Up Hope (2011)

1. X

2. Ode to Bula/Flight Lessons

3. Free Bird Part II

4. Humanity Is Sinking

5. Hink Hall

6. Go West

7. Transgressions

8. Hold Onto Your Seat, Syanne

9. White Roses

10. Street Kings

Seasons (2011)

1. Bluebird

2. Spring

3. Summer

4. Fall

5. Winter

CityCop/Les Doux (2013)

1. CityCop - Family Ties

2. CityCop - The Rain Song

3. CityCop - Hospital Beds

4. Les Doux - Silver Creek

5. Les Doux - Kingsbridge Blues

6. Les Doux - Stomaching Loss

Loner (2014)

1. This Is War, This Is Hell

2. Suburban Nightmare

3. Drench

4. Glass Bones

5. Fear and Self-Loathing in Ohio

The Same Stories That Never Get Old (2017)

1. The Golden Age of Concern

2. Ibuprofen

3. I Took The Ride

4. L'Ansia

5. I Could Have Stayed Longer

6. Soft Smile, Iron Teeth

7. Bad Trip

8. Homesick

9. Day of Rest

10. Cardinal

11. 526 Gage

Nesh (2019)

1. Nesh

2. Get Well

3. Hindsight

4. 20/20

5. Flatline

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Keaton Henson

"You're my best friend, and I'll love you 'til one of us dies"

Gentle, delicate, beautiful. Heartbreaking. Keaton Henson is a solitary man from London, England, and he is an artist in every possible use of the term. Visual, literary, musical, genius. However, as astounding as his entire body of work is, it's his music that is the focal point here. Keaton soundtracks feelings of isolation, loneliness, loss, and longing. He details events in his own life, covering everything from his own anxieties to failing relationships. His topics may not be all that optimistic, but in these sorrowful songs, one can find comfort in realising that they are not alone in their feelings, even in loneliness itself. He conveys his lyrics in his hushed, quivering voice. It sounds like a child shivering under their covers during a storm, but with the pain known only to a man who has lived too much. And the result is emotionally astounding. His musical backing is usually just his guitar, which is usually fairly simple, but with such elegantly raw tones. The chords, dynamics, and overall tone is truly the sound of a guitar while it "gently weeps". He makes beautiful use of vibrato and fingerpicking patterns, with unconventional chord structures and tunings. This description sounds very folk-y, which to an extent, it is. But very somber, modern, and unique to him. Other instruments are used frequently to expand upon his skeletal haunting sound, which turn his songs into quiet, melancholic tunes into orchestrated sadness in swelling motions, crashing into the listener. Listening to Keaton, a layer of skin is taken off, and it's almost as if the vulnerability he displays in parallelled in you, as you feel yourself open up to your own feelings and the connection you make with his. This is a stunning musical experience, and one I highly suggest you try. Enjoy everything below, and hopefully find solace in knowing you are not the only one that relates to this.

Metaphors (2011)

1. Metaphors

2. Judging Books By Their Covers

Don't Be Afraid (2011)

1. Don't Be Afraid

Dear (2011)

1. Prologue

2. You Don't Know How Lucky You Are

3. Charon

4. Oliver Dalston Browning

5. Sarah Minor

6. Small Hands

7. Flesh And Bone

8. Nests

9. Not That You'd Even Notice

10.  Party Song

The Lucky EP (2012)

1. You Don't Know How Lucky You Are

2. To Your Health

3. Mary Celeste

4. Maps (Yeah Yeah Yeahs cover)

B-Sides And Rarities (2012)

1. Strawbear

2. All Things Must Pass

3. Sophie

4. Maps (Yeah Yeah Yeahs cover)

5. You Were Always On My Mind

Birthdays (Deluxe Edition) (2013)

1. Teach Me

2. 10am Gare du Nord

3. You

4. Lying To You

5. The Best Today

6. Don't Swim

7. Kronos

8. Beekeeper

9. Sweetheart, What Have You Done To Us?

10. In The Morning

11. Milk Teeth

12. If I Don't Have To

13. On The News

Sand (2014)

1. Sand

Romantic Works (2014)

1. Preface

2. Elevator Song

3. Healah Dancing

4. Field

5. Josella

6. Petrichor

7. Earnestly Yours

8. Nearly Curtains

9. Emissary

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mewithoutYou

mewithoutYou are a five-piece indie rock/post-hardcore band from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They started in 2000, and have been active ever since. They have been constantly evolving throughout their years, and have consistently created some amazing pieces of work. Whether they are letting out blood-curling screams of agony and loss to the orchestra of distorted, dissonant guitars, or singing folks songs about foxes and poorly knit sweaters, these guys are flawless. As I'm sure many of you already know, since they are a very noteworthy band in the style of music usually covered on here, and they get a ton of requests. As they should, because everything this band has done needs to be heard. 

The band is fronted by brothers Aaron and Michael Weiss (vocals and guitar respectively, among other instruments). They, along with drummer Rickie Mazzotta and numerous other musicians with varying tenures have defined the band's sound. Vocally they are very distinct. Aaron Weiss' spoken-word style emulates bands such as Moss Icon and Slint that came before them, and that is now popular because of bands like La Dispute and Listener (both of which take considerable influence from mewithoutYou). Aaron's vocals are tortured, whether he be speaking, singing, or screaming. His lyrics are very literate, detailed, and poetic,  heavily utilizing metaphors, imagery, and symbolism. They often make reference to literary and musical sources, as well as focus heavily on religion. A lot of mewithoutYou's work (lyrics, song titles, album names, artwork) are of religious nature, though the band aren't what you could call a "religious" band. They incorporate Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, etc. into their work, usually religion as an all-encompassing concept to convey their ideologies. It is very artful, and even people of no religion can understand and relate to. 

Their sound is very experimental, from early on to very recently. They use a lot of effects, try out different instrumentation, incorporate elements from different genres, all while making songs that sound like them. Keeping that in mind, their earlier material is much more electric guitar-based, with much more intensity and bite to their sound. Around the Brother, Sister and It's All Crazy!... era is when they really began switching from the post-hardcore of their early career and the introduction of their new, acoustic/folk driven sound. Their last album, Ten Stories, featured a nice mixture of both. Personally, I tend to gravitate towards their first two albums as favourites, but everything they have done is extraordinary and worth listening to. This is maybe with the exception of their earlier EP's, which are good and insanely angry and intense, but have subpar production work that could deter some. Still try them out though, especially if their first album really resonates with you. Enjoy!

Blood Enough For Us All (2000)

1. The Comfort You Give Is Only Torment

2. Flamethrower

3. Working In A Factory

4. I Dare You To Pick Someone To Fight Me

5. There Is Hope For A Tree Cut Down

6. Song For A Rapist

I Never Said That I Was Brave (2001)

1. I Never Said That I Was Brave

2. Flamethrower

3. Dying Is Strange

4. We Know Who Our Enemies Are

5. Four Word Letter

Norma Jean/mewithoutYou (2002)

1. Norma Jean - I Used To Hate Cellphones

2. Norma Jean - The Shotgun Message

3. mewithoutYou - Bullet To Binary

4. mewithoutYou - Gentlemen

[A-B] Life (2002)

1. Bullet To Binary

2. The Ghost

3. Nice And Blue

4. Everything Was Beautiful And Nothing Hurt

5. A

6. Gentlemen

7. Be Still Child

8. We Know Who Our Enemies Are

9. I Never Said That I Was Brave

10. B

11. Silencer

12. The Cure For Pain

Catch For Us The Foxes (2004)

1. Torches Together

2. January 1979

3. Tie Me Up! Untie Me!

4. Linear

5. Disaster Tourism

6. Seven Sisters

7. The Soviet

8. Paper Hanger

9. My Exit, Unfair

10. Four Word Letter (Part 2)

11. Carousels

12. Son Of A Widow

Brother, Sister (2006)

1. Messes Of Men

2. The Dryness Of Men

3. Wolf Am I! (And Shadow)

4. Yellow Spider

5. A Glass Can Only Spill What It Contains

6. Nice And Blue (Pt. II)

7. The Sun And The Moon

8. Orange Spider

9. C-Minor

10. In A Market Dimly Lit

11. O, Porcupine

12. Brownish Spider

13. In A Sweater Poorly Knit

It's All Crazy! It's All False! It's All A Dream! It's Alright (2009)

1. Every Thought A Thought Of You

2. The Fox, The Crow And The Cookie

3. The Angel Of Death Came To David's Room

4. Goodbye, I!

5. A Stick, A Carrot & String

6. Bullet To Binary (Pt. 2)

7. Timothy Hay

8. Fig With A Bellyache

9. Cattail Down

10.The King Beetle On A Coconut Estate

11. Allah, Allah, Allah

Come As You Are: A 20th Anniversary Tribute To Nirvana's 'Nevermind' (2011)

2. In Bloom (Nirvana cover)

Ten Stories (2012)

1. February, 1878

2. Grist For The Malady Mill

3. East Enders Wives

4. Cardiff Giant

5. Elephant In The Dock

6. Aubergine

7. Fox's Dream Of The Log Flume

8. Nine Stories

9. Fiji Mermaid

10. Bear's Vision Of St. Agnes

11. All Circles

Pale Horses (2015)

1. Pale Horse

2. Watermelon Ascot

3. D-Minor

4. Mexican War Streets

5. Red Cow

6. Dorothy

7. Blue Hen

8. Lilac Queen

9. Magic Lantern Days

10. Birnam Wood

11. Rainbow Signs

[untitled] e.p. (2018)

1. Bethlehem, WV

2. Winter Solstice (alt. version)

3. Dirty Air

4. Cities of the Plain

5. Existential Dread, Six Hours' Time

6. August 6th

7. Kristy w/The Sparkling Teeth

[Untitled] (2018)

1. 9:27am, 7/29

2. Julia (or, 'Holy to the LORD' on the Bells of Horses)

3. Another Head for Hydra

4. [Dormouse Sighs]

5. Winter Solstice

6. Flee, Thou Matadors!

7. Tortoises All the Way Down

8. 2,459 Miles

9. Wendy & Betsy

10. New Wine, New Skins

11. Michael, Row Your Boat Ashore

12. Break on Through (To the Other Side) [Pt. 2]