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Listen To The River

by The Collection

supported by
Hope
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Hope Indie folk jam band music at it's finest. Road trips or work days, this will uplift your spirit.
Vitus
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Vitus Your music makes me happy despite I have a very tough time. Thank you for that!
themcscotty
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themcscotty Wimbish always communicates deeply meaningful ideas in ever more beautifully crafted melodies. I have not been able to stop thinking about these songs. Listen to the River is so relatable as to become a bittersweet study of myself through Wimbish's eyes. We prayed, "Holy God, tear me apart. I don't care if it hurts" (Burning Trees). Then he did, and we did care. What then? Listen to the River is David working through his answer to that, and it has challenged me to think deeply about mine. Favorite track: No Maps Of The Past.
Zachary Monfredo
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Zachary Monfredo Every song on here is a masterpiece. Everything I could have hoped for. Lyrics are poetic, the music is soothing and embellished. Perfect :) Favorite track: Birds.
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1.
I can no longer carry the ark if it’s causing the death of my friends So I’ll trade that gold ballast for hand-laden altars, And baptize myself in the lake Oh, there was sorrow in every word Oh, how it longed to be heard But for the first time, I am not speaking, I am just listening until I can hear you on my own
2.
I’ve been searching too hard for my soul Like it matters which words lead us home When the end will not reveal its face I guess I will rest in palms of grace Am I lost or found? Or am I just here, waiting around Until someone comes and tells me it’s okay to move? And I’ll take another step toward you You taste like wine You taste like wine You taste like wine But I can’t find those vines Was the path one my feet made clear? Or was it laid out long before I appeared? Each new love feels the same as before Yet each old one keeps me longing for more Is this all that we get? Or, is there something we forget When we are born and hope to find it once again? Open doors beckon us into you You taste like wine You taste like wine You taste like wine But I can’t find those vines So c’mon, show me home and I will go You taste like wine And I think that is fine
3.
Mama 04:11
Mama, I know you cannot let go The weight that I have placed upon your scales Is more than they were meant to hold But steady is the hand that leads me home I’ve never known its plan, but I’m still grasping To the other end of its rope Like you Lately you just speak in words that broke Eventually the shards will break apart Until they start in to make you choke All of us were once baptized in hope Holy water that you gathered from the father Until it started coming out of your throat And you felt it like a bad dream But I watched it like a movie screen Different eyes can see the same thing and not realize what it means Oh, Lord, where did I go wrong? A cut cord? A kettle left too long? But you won’t answer any prayers when I’m alone Perfume words from alabaster songs And tales of hurt described by fiery tongues But you won’t answer any prayers when I’m alone Mama, I know you cannot let go Though we have both been rowing toward the ocean, It seems our motions split some time ago Steady are the hands with which we row The way the rapids turn the land to sand Feels like a steady plan to take us home You felt it like an ending But I saw it like a new scene Different ears can hear the same thing and not agree on what it means Oh, Lord, where did I go wrong? A cut cord? A kettle left too long? But you won’t answer any prayers when I’m alone Perfume words from alabaster songs And tales of hurt described by fiery tongues But you won’t answer any prayers when I’m alone
4.
Birds 04:25
I’ve held birds with broken wings Between all my changing leaves Keep my branches strong to hold their perch But my roots can’t seem to quench my thirst And the birds hate us naked trees It’s our honesty that makes them leave While the dark flock hovers, Wondering what would help me keep my big mouth shut And I will always tame my mind What hand grafts us to what vine? While the stars quietly speak Of mystery Or futility Which will keep me steady on my feet? You have built nests from all of my bark For too long to tell us apart But my branches always seem to break When I look for you inside their shapes And the earth will never tame its mind What foot crushed us to what wine? While the ocean loudly speaks Of creativity Or vanity But which will keep me steady on my feet? But they say, “You ask too many questions You start too many fires You dream of resurrection But you’re too scared to die”
5.
When I look out the window, I only see my reflection No memory crescendos, no past-year possessions Where did all of our time go? Like a ladder with no bottom And each rung passing below: I’ve already forgot them How did I love you the first time we realized that we both did? And all of the canyons in my mind were crossed upon your bridges How did I used to hold you before you knew that you needed it If everything always feels new, then what if nothing is? I’m trying to find my way back to where we started My tired mind holds no maps of the past If you are the wine, I’m the headache you part with Leaving us blind to why we ever poured the glass When the rain comes tomorrow, and the sun peeks through small cracks Then I’ll see you’re an echo of a sound I can’t get back Where did all of our time go? What is it that we don’t know we’re missing? There is no hope in photos if I can’t remember the feelings within them and I’m trying to find my way back to where we started My tired mind holds no maps of the past If you are the wine, I’m the headache you part with Leaving us blind to why we ever poured the glass Oh, the saints go marching out with their faces full of doubt That we meant the promises Well, I can’t remember if we did I’m trying to find my way back to where we started My tired mind holds no maps of the past If you are the wine, I’m the headache you part with Leaving us blind to why we ever poured the glass
6.
I keep losing everything I have My keys, my phone, my friends, my hat And every brick I laid each year collapsed By some unnamed trumpeter marching past And he asked What if my light was a ghost? Every breath comes out held by a gasp With every timbered year tied loose to my soul’s raft I’m tugging at my oars with waning grasp And when I hear the river, it only laughs And it asks What if my light was a ghost? The divine came and cut all my bark away And I stood naked, awaiting the fire Took my last breath from the sun and the wind and clay And I was one with the whole earth’s desires And I lived and died at the same time What if my light was a ghost? What if all failures and hopes are on the same river, afloat? Then I think my light is a ghost
7.
I’ve always been told we hold black holes inside That know from the start that every star must die But it seems too convenient to lose track of time Now that you’re gone, will my orbit unwind? What northern wind blew us into the street And what fatal one will we all someday meet? Swept into a palace with no sign of a king No court for us jesters, but we like to Sing of the moon as it sometimes get shy Running from lovers through starry-eyed skies Morning comes quick bringing tragic goodbyes Nothing ever really dies, right? Someone’s lighting candles all over my floor And placed “holy of holy’s” through every door But who are our doubts said to? Some half of the evening knew of listening ears, long withdrew? So we sing of the moon and the face that it hides Shining just half of its truth to our skies But bring me the sun that gives it all its light I don’t want to just wait to die Alright
8.
I painted you on my doorpost when the angel of death passed by Your precious heart is like an orchard that grows within mine And this house has become my cage, All of the windows steal hours from my eyes They let in so little light, I start to think that I’m blind There are so many people They fall like the snow that collects outside I know between them, they feel everything So I don’t have to feel alright Well, I am lonely when I’m around people They are all sure of things, and I can’t relate But I’m still losing all of my sleep over all of our fate I’ve been the altar inside of your temple I have been condescended by stars And I know there is no stranger feeling Than knowing no one knows where you are There are so many people They float like the lashes that fall from my eyes I know between them, they believe everything So I don’t have to be right
9.
Where’s the “you” that we all used to love? When the spirit came upon you like a dove? And your love felt exactly like ours was Well, I can’t believe it’s not enough Since the day that you dyed your hair black We were worried that the serpent would snap You never know when you might be attacked And once you go, you can never come back Now the current pulls you out toward that ocean we spoke about I always thought that all we needed lived around its mouth But you find peace within the river’s sounds And your love was received through a sieve And it left a small crease in your gifts And furrowed brows on the way that you live Well, I can’t believe the things you did To find light in the darkest of rooms To find sun in the smallest of moons To find that everything dies too soon So why not love the road to ruin? And now the current pulls you out toward that ocean we spoke about I always thought that all we needed lived around its mouth But you find peace within the river’s sounds You taught me movement sometimes can be safe When I was always scared to run away Tired of lines we’re told that we should trace Drawn by pens of someone else’s faith Well, I’ve always loved the pictures that yours paints Now the current pulls you out toward that ocean we spoke about I always thought that all we needed lived around its mouth But you find peace within the river’s sounds
10.
I hope to break myself open, Drain this poison water Let it flow back to its ocean That I used to call, “Father” Every absence is a door to walk through But it all leads to empty rooms And the writing on the wall says, “We were never here” But if awe is the salve for my eyes, Than I’ve gone blind We are not hard to find But we’re all lost all of the time And I was a creature of habit So I got myself stuck on your rabbit trails And I’m trying hard to leave myself When you’re constantly in motion The forest has no trees And the one I climbed was broken And I fell quick through its iridescent leaves All my cravings, in your absence, moved To lesser things that I love too And the writing on the wall says, “We were fading quickly” I dreamed of ropes tied ‘round the rafters But I heard your heart shatter, And I woke and cried ‘till My eyes saw things clearly That fear would keep me here even if this life had scared me And if awe is the salve for my eyes, Then I’ve gone blind I am not hard to find, But I feel lost all of the time I was a creature of habit I am leaving your rabbit trails And I am trying hard to believe myself
11.
The Listener 05:38
All of my life, I’ve been asking the same things And I still don’t think I’m closer to an answer I’d build an ark at the first sighting of rain But the sky just stays the same and I feel landlocked by our conversation I can’t tell the difference between stars and lights that I’m to follow They all glow So set my sails toward westward gales And pray that love don’t just blow one direction 500 times I’ve asked you if you’re still there And I never hear replies, yet somehow I’m still doing fine If I find land, will I know if it was planned, or if it’s all just happenstance? And will it matter as long as there is ground around for my feet? If I head south, will that be heresy? No, I don’t think so So cast my fears away from piers And pray that love don’t just blow one direction Listen to the river, now Listen to the river When I woke up, you were standing on the opposite bank And I saw that you never needed to be saved And I know, I know, I know That I’ve seen the light go out in so many friend’s eyes But the wind can’t take the spark that settled inside And I know, I know, I know we’ll be alright

about

A year after processing the deaths that lead to the Collection’s first full-length, vocalist David Wimbish found his faith and courage left at the bottom of a spiritual well. Listen To The River is the story of the rope that he used to climb out, one that’s strands were made of great spiritual writers, from Rumi and Kahlil Gibran to Herman Hesse and Lao Tse. The process that followed was a re-examination and reorientation of both his spirituality, and his marriage to member Mira Joy after mutually deciding to divorce last year, ultimately leading to an album created together, hoping to honor the past while accepting the present.
The band had spent much of the last few years touring the country as a unit of 7 people, and wanted to create an album that reflected the sound of their experiences together. Where previously the Collection had been approached as a community collective, Listen To The River is much more distinctly the sound of a band, one that has been through many tough and beautiful moments together.

credits

released March 24, 2017

Listen To The River was performed by
David Wimbish: Vocals, Guitar, Keys, Percussion, Strings, Baritone Horn, Vibraphone
Hope Baker: Clarinet, Saxophone, Percussion, Piano, Vocals
Hayden Cooke: Bass Guitar, Vocals
Timothy Joel Austin: Drums, Percussion, Vocals
Joshua Dorsett: Electric Guitar, Loops, Vocals
Graham Dickey: Horns, Harp, Vibraphone
Mira Joy Wimbish: Vocals, Accordion, Percussion, Vibraphone

Additional Musicians:
Luke Skaggs: Fiddle on “Siddhartha”
Stephen Price: Synth on “Birds” and “The Alchemy Of Awe”
Joshua Ling and Terra Jo Kleigle (in addition to the collection) sang group vocals on “Birds,” “Siddhartha,” “Sing Of The Moon,” “So Many People,” “The Older One,” and “The Explorer.”

Executive Producer: Stephen Price
Co-producers: David Wimbish, Joshua Dorsett
Engineering: Stephen Price
Assistant Engineering: Joshua Dorsett, Ethan Gingrich, Dustin Lohr
Mixing: David Wimbish, Joshua Dorsett
Mastering: Adam Gonsalves, Telegraph Mastering
Art Concept: Brian Morgante, Flesh & Bone
Artwork: David Wimbish

The Collection feels enormous gratitude to James and Mikal Celentano, for being the best manager and team a band could ask for and for making this record even possible, Stephen and Kate Price for believing in this dream and seeing it to fruition, ElisaRay, Al Brilliant, our beautiful friends in Lowland Hum, and Aaron Weiss for spiritual and personal direction, Joel Case, The Helser’s, and A Place For The Heart for letting us use your beautiful studio, Gene Francis and Reynolda Church, Riede Dervay, Kevan Chandler, The Oh Hellos, Family & Friends, Cereus Bright, mewithoutYou, The Genuine, our parents, every venue that’s hosted us, every family that has hosted and/or fed us, and every person that’s ever listened to our music: we do not take for granted the fact that we can only do this because of you.

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Indie-pop from Saxapahaw, NC. New single, "Won't Stop Yet" is out now

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