July 7th, 2013 
Adrian Garza 
Artist: Listener
Album: Time Is A Machine
Genre: Talk Music
Label: Unsigned
“Talk Music” really is an interesting topic. Over the past couple of years, it’s practically become trendy for bands to start involving spoken word parts into their work. Yet still, Listener beat so many others to the punch back in 2007 when the band made it’s transition from the hip-hop genre to a more rock-ish sound, thus establishing themselves with the rest of today’s modern wave of bands that combine the two so well. So much to the point that I was ever asked to name one artist or band that sounded 100% organic, Listener would be among the first to come to mind.
As the vocalist and lyricist of Listener, Dan Smith comes off as strong as ever, if not stronger, here on this album. With so many new and unique approaches to telling age-old stories, like the end of the world on “Not Today” and the ridiculous journey that we call life on “I Think It’s Called Survival,” it’s hard to find one stale aspect of the themes on this album. “There Are Wrecking Balls Inside Of Us” features some of my most favorite lyrics from the band: Ok, we’ll swing our hearts around in our own ways. What I build could be anything! What you build could be anything! What we build could be anything, it could be anything anything!
When YouTube videos of the band performing new songs surfaced last summer, it was obvious that there was going to be a dramatic style shift in the near future, and I couldn’t be any more right about it. One of the big factors that have helped with with this new sound could be attributed to the addition of their new drummer, Kris Rochelle, who joined the band back in 2011 after the indie-rock leaning Wooden Heart released. Now, there’s this meticulous and simple rock sound that wraps itself around with and complementing the emotions brought out in the words being said/sung/shouted while presenting an evident heaviness that easily tops the old limits tested in their 2007 LP, Return To Struggleville.
Now, with all the positives that have been brought up, there’s always a couple of negatives that seep through. Songs with catchiness and hooks might not be appealing in theory, but there comes a point where a couple wouldn’t hurt with rounding out an album: Even some of the most serious action movies mix in some comedy to help pique interest. After carrying the thought of”quality vs quantity” in my mind, nine tracks is a little short, and it almost felt like things ended just as soon as they started when I was doing my first couple of play-throughs of the album. Then again, I’d rather have nine individual tracks do a great job on their own and transition perfectly into each other with no filler in-between than to have 16 mediocre songs of fluff.
Despite all of that, what we have here is a golden album that people are sure to fall in love with. Does Time Is A Machine have some of the most genuine, sincere, and emotional Listener songs to date? You bet. From the beginning of “Eyes To The Ground For Change” to the end of “It Will All Happen The Way It Should,” the entire experience is inspiring.
RATING: 9/10
Reviewed by: Adrian Garza (Follow On Twitter)
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