Over the course of Listening Party‘s over-decade-long run, the Milwaukee-based band has played hundreds of shows all around the Upper Midwest and logged thousands of miles on the road. Along the way, the band itself has taken a few different forms, as lineup changes have ushered in changes to the seasoned outfit’s overall sound.
After paring the band down to a duo and releasing its latest album, Been A Long Time Comin’, in the summer of 2023, Listening Party’s founding members Weston Mueller and Jacob Wood have brought two new members—upright bassist Travis Worth and guitarist Tyler Furrer—into the fold and got to work on their long-awaited fifth album. That record, entitled High & Low, will be released Thursday, February 19. In advance of that release, Listening Party has been sporadically putting out singles, including one they dropped on streaming services this past Friday.
“Hills & Valleys” is the second single from High & Low to see the light of day. Like its predecessor, the rollicking “KK River Blues,” the new song shows a decidedly more substantial and rock and roll-tinged visage of the band than longtime listeners might be accustomed to hearing. With a swelling, mournful harmonica and downtrodden piano setting the tone, Mueller’s voice bellows lyrics about an arduous journey embarked upon to be reunited with a distant love.
At four minutes long, the dramatic song (which also has a string arrangement) showcases the new-look, new-sound Listening Party’s ongoing sonic evolution. Before the nine-track High & Low is released on February 19—the very same day the band will headline a show at Anodyne Coffee’s Walker’s Point Roastery that also features Old Oaks and Chris Haise Band—you can listen to “Hills & Valleys” below (or anywhere music is streamed). You can also pre-order the forthcoming album here.