Over the last decade, Milwaukee-based band Listening Party has sought to create songs that deeply resonate with their listeners. Their folk and Americana-steeped sound expertly and reverently takes the pulse and traditions of their genre while adding their own charm. Milwaukee-based Shepherd Express even compared the band to The Avett Brothers and The Lumineers. While they’ve gone through lineup changes before recently becoming a duo, their hard work mantra has remained steadfast. They’ve stayed busy with shows ranging from dive bars to regular main stage performances at Summerfest. Pounding the pavement for over 120 shows a year throughout Wisconsin and the Midwest has led them to a road-tested live performance.
Their latest album Been a Long Time Comin’ (set to release on August 25th) highlights Listening Party’s perseverance to carry on through the Covid-19 pandemic and mutually parting ways with a longtime band mate and friend. The band seeks to capture “the bombastic attitude and instrumentation of Midwestern Folk/Americana.” The songs are accented and driven by a “howling” harmonica and a church piano. At their core, the band and album remain true to the “intimacy” of storytelling and melody.
Today Glide is excited to premiere the standout track “Same Ol’ Problems,” a piano-driven work of folk-rock that slowly builds into the kind of anthem that speaks to all of us. With a lyrical focus on the struggle of addiction, it hits like a road song with its mix of harmonica, tambourine, catchy anthemic lyrics, and quick jolts of guitar picking. This is the kind of tune that demonstrates Listening Party’s ability to write songs that carry substance while also being something that a dancehall filled with revelers could easily sing along with.
The band describes the inspiration behind the song:
“’Same Ol’ Problems’ is written about a close friend who struggles and succumbs to addiction. The song examines this from the point of view of the addict, who’s ultimately giving in to substance abuse. Through this lens, the subject seems aware of the physical and emotional damage they are inducing and is helplessly hoping that tomorrow will be better. They cry for help but that cry echoes in empty halls. It falls on the deaf ears of loved ones that also find themselves losing hope for better days. The addict starts to wonder, is it still possible to make a change and an even more daunting thought; what’ll become of me if I don’t? The true sadness of addiction lies in that helplessness. Time and time again this self-fulfilling loop marches on. It’s always the ‘Same Ol’ Problems.'”
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