Bristol, U.K., post-hardcore outfit Svalbard are a heavy band that's unafraid of heavy topics. The quartet are gearing up for the release of their third album, When I Die, Will I Get Better?, an emotionally charged, shoegaze-inflected rollercoaster that faces head-on such weighty themes as sexism, misogyny, abuse and depression. Today, (August 13th) the band has teamed up with Revolver to premiere one of the LP's eight tracks, the standout "Listen to Someone." Check it out above along with its vivid music video. When I Die, Will I Get Better? is due out on September 25th — you can pre-order the album now in North America via Translation Loss and in Europe via Holy Roar.
Aptly titled, "Listen to Someone" poignantly takes on the issue of mental illness and "how we need to do so more than simply encourage people who suffer from depression to 'talk to someone,'" acccording to vocalist, guitarist and lyricist Serena Cherry. Below, she discusses in-depth the inspiration behind the song.
"There's a lot of well-meaning discussions about mental illness online, and whilst I appreciate that talking about mental illness helps reduce the stigma that depression is a weakness, I do take issue with this catchphrase: 'Speak to someone,'" says Cherry. "It's a common sentiment expressed in mental health discourse — people want to make it known that sufferers can speak to them if they're feeling down, which is a clearly a kind and caring act. However, I would much rather the emphasis was placed on listening to someone. 'If you want to talk about the most difficult, darkest aspects of your mental health, I will listen without judgement.' Something like that is an improvement. You can feel the shift in sentiment.
"As someone who has struggled with depression, someone offering to listen to me is far more reassuring than someone instructing me to talk to them. When a person urges someone with depression to speak about it, it places the onus on the mentally ill to reach out, which is actually a really difficult thing for a depressed or anxious person to do. Also, if someone does choose to confide about the darkest depths of their depression to you, you need to be truly prepared to listen. This means: not getting impatient or frustrated with the person for being unable to be 'cheered up,' not wincing at the topic of suicide, not alienating mentally ill people with dramatic reactions to their words. It's all very well and good to encourage people to speak to someone, but people also need to be prepared to listen to the mentally ill without making judgement."
"Listen to Someone" lyrics:
Days without eating
Days without sleeping
Days without speaking
The nights are the hardest
When the voices are the loudest
Days without eating
Days without sleeping
Days without speaking
Don't tell me it's okay to not be okay then wince at everything I say
Don't act like a confidant if you're just going to get impatient and make patronizing suggestions
It's not my life that's the problem It's me.
Days without eating
Days without sleeping
Days without speaking If I could fix it like a broken limb, I would.
If I could stop these thoughts and start again, I would.
I would leap at the chance
But the chance: it does not exist
Some illnesses – they just have no fix.
Listen to someone without judgment.
