Testing Their Mettle

LISTENING PARTY RETURNS WITH RENEWED DIRECTION ON LATEST ALBUM

BY JOSHUA M. MILLER

For Milwaukee-based band Listening Party, there have been many unexpected twists and turns to reach its latest album, Been A Long Time Comin’.

In January 2020, the band was riding a creative high, with a new batch of songs. They had recorded some songs a few months prior and were about to return to the studio. “That whole process was exhilarating and full of anxiety at the same time,” recalls singer-songwriter Weston Mueller.

However, pandemic lockdowns abruptly halted their plans and put the band’s future in question. Longtime member Joshua Hester needed a break from music to focus on his wellbeing, so they amicably parted ways.

“He’s been a good friend and band member for a decade, and whenever you know somebody and work with somebody for that long, you create quite a bond,” says Mueller. “It’s important to take care of yourself, your mind and body most importantly.”

The departure left Mueller and keyboardist Jacob Wood working mostly as a duo, driven by their infatuation with creating music. They continued writing new songs, refining old songs, and hoping the rest would work itself out.

“We just had to regroup and not let it keep us in a negative headspace and keep the wheels moving,” says Mueller. “It was tough, but we're good buds, and the foundation we have got us through the whole thing … Music is part of us, and when we think about giving it up, it's not a match. We looked at ourselves and the whole situation and realized this is what you want to be doing. It was an easy decision to make.”

LOCAL SUPPORT

It also didn’t hurt that they still had lots of support locally in the city and state. As soon as they started playing shows again, they realized “just how great those connections are with people.”

Photo by Mike Collins.

“If people out there still want to hear us play, we're going to show up for them,” says Mueller. “If there’s 10 people or 100 people, we'll show up because there's still some people out there who love us, and so, we'll be there.”

As a songwriter, Mueller feels he connects to his lyrics now. “They’re coming from a place of honesty more, and I feel like I’m sharing a part of myself,” says Mueller.

Despite the lineup change, the band’s sound remains grounded in folk, rock and Americana. Wood has taken on more responsibility, playing multiple instruments. “He’s had to step up and take a bigger chunk out of the songs, and he’s doing it fantastically, and it’s really fun to watch him grow in that aspect,” says Mueller. “It’s forced us to grow a little more and to evolve a little more.”

Adds Wood, “I think it’s allowed us a chance to really tighten up as a duo and really find the music …We’re just trying to constantly learn and evolve.”

INSPIRATION IN THE CHAPEL

The band also found renewed vigor thanks to an untraditional recording space. They traveled to Hartland, WI, to record at Axis Studios—a converted 19th century chapel that sits atop a hill—with studio owner Vinny Millevolte.

“Being in a non-traditional setting, you almost forget you’re recording,” says Wood. “You feel so comfortable there. You forgot you were there to record. You were just playing music and having fun.”

Their first time at the church inspired album song “Wastin’ Time.” “It went along with this song about wasting time and how life can be short,” says Mueller. “Just don’t waste your time here and make the best of it. People who spent their life together and then get buried together and do the whole thing together, that’s inspiring for the rest of the world.”

Photo by Mike Collins.

Many of the album’s songs focus on the search for redemption. “They’re searching for love and searching for relationships,” says Mueller.

Once inside the church, they were stunned by the chapel’s unique acoustics and beauty. “It brought out a natural reverb to everything,” says Mueller.

Adds Wood, “it was just visually stunning. You’re doing your vocals and singing into this empty chapel with the light going through these stained-glass windows. It felt really cool and epic while you’re in there doing your parts.”

Millevolte recorded them from the small room that once was used for the children’s crying room. Once they were finished recording a song, Mueller and Wood would do a celebratory ring of the church’s bell.

“Vinny was the one who had suggested it,” says Mueller. “We're kids, so we took him up on that. And at the very end, I think it was the last song we did, and it was like 10:30 at night and we’re in a neighborhood. Jacob rings the bell and then he shoots around. He’s like, ‘it’s too late to stop me!’

“But we were celebrating, either way, so we got our celebration. Sorry to the neighbors. It was very satisfying to pull that thing down and it was powerful when that thing would go off.”

Joshua M. Miller is a local music writer and frequent contributor to the Shepherd Express. You can follow his work on Twitter at @JoshuaMMillerWI.