'Words can be life-giving or destructive'

Image Credit: DENS

21st Apr 2020
Tags: Music News DENS Rock

DENS are a heavy rock band from Richmond, Virginia, whose songs ‘Even’ and ‘Learn’ have just been chosen for the xRhythms playlist.

Anyone who’s heard the intro to ‘Even’ will know that DENS don’t go in with a gentle melodic beginning, but the song captures your attention from the start.

Listeners might not have noticed, but the album ‘Taming Tongues’, which has delivered their two radio hits, has adopted the most unusual method of titling their songs.

Even Foolish Men Are Wise When They Learn To Keep Quiet.

Each song on the album is a single word, and all the titles, taken in order, spell out the statement “Even Foolish Men Are Wise When They Learn To Keep Quiet”. 

This does present the challenging question of how appropriate titles like ‘Are’ or ‘To’ are for songs.

Nevertheless, there’s no doubt that DENS have a serious message to put across on their album. It’s the same message you’ll find in Bible verses such as Proverbs 21:23, “He who guards his mouth and his tongue guards himself from troubles.”

DENS consist of band members Shaun Hypes, Brandon Osborne, Josh Tomlinson, and Josh Waltman. The band signed to America’s influential independent label Facedown Records in 2019.

Announcing their ‘Taming Tongues’ album in January 2020, a press release read, “DENS have always found their mission in using music as a platform to creatively and honestly explore themes of faith, hope, redemption and grace.

Words can be life-giving or destructive.

“’Taming Tongues' explores how words can be life-giving or destructive, and emotions can be the salt of life or the fuel that gets thrown on a fire."