Dutch alt-pop artist Laguna has released her new EP You Speak More Than You Listen, delivering a dreamy yet defiant collection of songs centred on finding your voice, taking up space and standing firm without losing your softness.
The project marks another step forward for Laguna, the solo project of Dutch musician and songwriter Bente Hout. Known for combining atmospheric synths, layered vocals and electronic alt-pop with intimate songwriting, Hout uses her latest release to explore personal experiences alongside wider questions around power, equality and whose voices are given room to be heard.
Before launching Laguna, Hout spent five years as the frontwoman of dream-pop band Sväva. During that time, she performed at festivals including Eurosonic Noorderslag, Oerol and The Great Escape, toured across the UK and Sweden, and supported artists such as Still Corners and Vök. Sväva also reached audiences beyond the live circuit when its music appeared in the Netflix series 13 Reasons Why.
With Laguna, Hout has moved towards a more personal and individual artistic identity. That evolution continues on You Speak More Than You Listen, her third solo EP and her most outward-looking project to date.
The EP was recorded in Brighton and London with producer Michelle Hindriks of CIEL, who previously played alongside Hout in Sväva before moving to the UK to pursue her own music career. The creative process also followed a deliberate approach, with the project once again bringing together an entirely female and non-binary artistic team, reflecting the values explored throughout the record.
The project’s central message comes into sharp focus on ‘Silent’, the song that lends its name to the EP. Built around dreamy synths, layered vocal harmonies and an infectious pop chorus, the track confronts the experience of being spoken over and expected to remain quiet.
Rather than simply matching aggression with aggression, Laguna takes a different approach. Her perspective is rooted in the belief that standing up for yourself does not require abandoning empathy or vulnerability. For her, softness can be powerful too, allowing someone to be both gentle and completely clear about their boundaries.
That balance between tenderness and resistance gives the EP much of its character. Laguna questions who is allowed to speak, who is expected to listen and why certain voices continue to dominate conversations, while refusing to suggest that strength has to come at the expense of sensitivity.
Elsewhere, ‘Once It’s Dark’ expands the EP’s focus into political and social territory. The electronic pop track examines people in positions of power who make significant decisions while remaining protected from the consequences experienced by others. Instead of delivering its message through straightforward political slogans, Laguna uses atmosphere, irony and personal storytelling to make her point.
The result is a project that constantly moves between intimacy and confrontation. Its dreamy production provides an inviting surface, while the songwriting underneath encourages listeners to think about inequality, power and the pressures surrounding whose voices matter.
Following her earlier EP Drifting, which leaned more heavily into personal and introspective territory, You Speak More Than You Listen represents a broader artistic perspective for Laguna. Personal experiences become a starting point for conversations about much bigger issues, giving the record a sense of purpose without sacrificing its emotional character.
As her third solo EP, You Speak More Than You Listen stands as Laguna’s clearest statement yet. It is a record about claiming your place without becoming louder simply for the sake of being heard, and about discovering that vulnerability and resistance can exist side by side.
For Laguna, speaking up does not mean becoming harder. Sometimes, the most powerful way to claim your space is simply to refuse to disappear.
