This is my first taste of Christian progressive. The Listening's self-titled debut is quite unique for Christian music, both lyrically and musically.
It is easy to cast the whole genre of Christian into a spamming of happy-go-lucky G-major chords, which inevitably make all Christian music sound the same. And it is true – contemporary Christian music has a certain sameness to it. It takes the rare band or song to rise above the clichés.
The Listening is a cliché buster.
The Listening is far more unique than most of its Christian contemporaries, mostly for its progressive feel and use of electronica. I'm not saying they are unique in the whole musical world – that would be an impressive feat indeed for any band. If I had to describe their sound, I would say a melding of Radiohead, Porcupine Tree, and Coldplay. Fans of these bands looking for their Christian counterpart would do well to start with The Listening.
The Listening is the great Christian band you've never heard of.