The feeling on listenlisten's Hymns From Rhodesia is closer to apocalyptic resignation than the assured rage often found in protest music. Still, in finding inspiration in Cecil Rhodes — the famous and infamous 19th-century mining kingpin and politician and totem for imperialism in Africa — songwriter Ben Godfrey was likely thinking about how little has changed over 100 years.

So rather than a contemporary topic that quickly feels dated, Godfrey and listenlisten put his eerie lyrics of anxiety, violence, death and doom to largely wood-and-wire instrumentation that is gorgeous, unsettling and untethered to era or trend. They're elaborate songs — "baroque," suggests guitarist/keyboardist Marshall Graves — of movement touched with melancholy and/or despair, which comes natural to the waltz, a form often used by the band.

photo by Pam Cantu

Listenlisten started out as a trio. Godfrey did the writing, and played guitar, keyboards, banjo and percussion. Shane Patrick played banjo, brass and percussion. Joe Joyner played violin and viola. This lineup released a self-titled EP a year ago, which featured muted folk songs that tended to explode into something cathartic.

Rhodesia finds Godfrey and Patrick (banjo, brass and percussion) joined by Graves (a very listenlisten appropriate name) and Jose Chavez, who played some percussion. Chavez is is now the group’s drummer (except when he’s playing banjo -- that's sort of how they work). More recently Robert Ellis, a busybody multi-instrumentalist, joined on violin and dobro.

Listenlisten today has a lineup of five that can sound like twice as many players, with all-for-one vocal parts and unpredictable instrumentation that relies on a wheezing bit of brass here, a creaky banjo line there, a funereal organ elsewhere. All members add vocals, hand claps and any touches needed to put the song across.

With so many players capable of playing so many instruments, the songs often sound different than they were conceived. “I write the basic song,” Godfrey says, “but everyone collaborates on the parts, which usually changes the sound.”

The group is just coming off a tour up the East coast, ten days that Patrick says included “a few breakdowns. It wasn’t uneventful, but we made it through just fine.”

Though Rhodesia is just now finding its way into the world — the band plays release shows at Mango’s Friday and at Cactus Music Saturday — listenlisten is already working on new songs for a long EP due early next year.

Godfrey: “I think it’ll be another different direction. Not upbeat really, but different.”

Graves: “It seems like it might sound more modern. Not quite as old.”

Patrick: “But you could probably get pretty sad listening to it if you wanted to …”

Graves: “… because there’ll be all these songs about death.”

NOTE: Listenlisten was kind enough to play some songs for us, which my rotten camera did a shoddy job capturing. So sound issues should be blamed on me not the band. First is Shall We Meet Beyond the River? from Rhodesia, and second is I Will Be Mean, a new song the band hasn't yet recorded.

LISTENLISTEN CD release shows: 9 p.m. Friday with I Am Mesmer, Peter & The Wolf. Mango’s. $5. Also 1 p.m. Saturday. Cactus Music. Free.