Listeners, fittingly, loves its musical references. The anime's third episode, "You Made Me Realise," pays homage to the Irish alternative rock band My Bloody Valentine, quoting song titles, lyrics and introducing a new mecha duo named "The Valentines." The episode's soundtrack even showcases some shoegaze-esque guitar riffs in an obvious tribute to the group.
Listeners is set in a post-apocalyptic, steampunk world assaulted by the "Earless" - shadowy creatures who failed to become rock stars - and it's up to the Players to fend them off. Players are able to connect to amps and turn into fighting, musical mechas. Bilin and Kevin Valentine are a veteran Player duo, famous throughout the world for their exploits. Known as The Valentines, the two had an elaborate plan to destroy the Earless completely. Unfortunately, Bilin and Kevin's goals differed, and they drifted apart. As a result, Kevin became a shut-in while Bilin continued piloting their two-person mech.
Naturally, their interaction with the anime's main duo, Echo and Mu, brings them back together. After saving them from the Neubauten sisters, Bilin brings the two to her airship to question Mu about her connection to Jimi Stonefree. Mu and Jimi possess the same core component and, because Jimi is the most famous Player of all time, this connection is a big deal. Of course, the amnesiac Mu has no light to shed on the matter and, troubled by her past, she doesn't think Echo should continue travelling with her. Meanwhile, Echo talks engineering and women with the shut-in Kevin, who bonds with the boy following his disagreement with Mu. By the end of the episode, Mu comes realizes that she does want to be a Player and she does want to stay with Echo. The two acquire some upgraded equipment and resolve to uncover the mystery of Mu's past. Inspired, the Valentines reunite themselves, suiting up for a mecha battle with the younger duo.
There are a whole bunch of lyrics quoted throughout the episode, mostly mixed into the dialogue between The Valentines, and a few are used as battle cries. The lyrics are from My Bloody Valentine, an alternative rock band formed in 1983. The group pioneered the shoegaze genre, full of overwhelming, distorted, ethereal melodies. Even the episode title ("You Made Me Realize") references a My Bloody Valentine song of the same name. Even the episode's soundtrack showcases shoegaze-esque guitar riffs throughout the episode.
Similar to anime like Jojo's Bizarre Adventure, Western muscial references are everywhere in Listeners, with characters like Jimi Stonefree referencing Jimi Hendrix and his song "Stone Free" and the Neubauten Sisters referencing Einstürzende Neubauten, a German noise rock band around since the 80's. For fans of rock music, the many references make for an interesting watch. Of course, it would be nice if Listeners could blend these references with improved plotting and characterization, which are still lacking in the series. No reference holds any real narrative meaning - it's hard to say how The Valentines actually relate to their namesake, for example. But, it's still early in the season, so these things may change.
All in all, though, it's unique to see an anime paying tribute to bands like My Bloody Valentine. Going forward, Listeners fans will have a field day singling out the many more references along the way. From the the title of the fourth episode, "Teen Spirit," it's looking like Nirvana fans are in for a treat next week.
