Black Rivers
Black Rivers


3.5
great

Review

by Sowing STAFF
February 15th, 2015 | 16 replies


Release Date: 2015 | Tracklist

Review Summary: A curiously imaginative take on mainstream indie-pop.

Although I’m not sure exactly when it happened (it might have been sometime around the mid-2000s), indie-pop bands just started sprouting out of every little hole in the ground. Sharing this glazed over, streamlined likeness, they all began vying to become the best faux-hipster, coffee shop hero around. I’d try to disguise it with a cough or something, but everyone knows who I’m talking about…Mumford and Sons, Of Monsters and Men, come claim your prizes. For a while, it was actually nice to see the genre ascend so quickly, but the novelty wore off even faster as imitators started joining the rat race by the thousands – ultimately making it difficult to take mainstream indie seriously. That brings us to the current state of affairs here in 2015, although there are some bands that are valiantly fighting to turn the tide. Formed from two-thirds of the group Doves, Black Rivers is one of them.

At a casual glance, Black Rivers’ self-titled debut album screams that it is just another product in the assembly line. It favors melodic pop qualities over grit or substance, the production is so immaculate that the music loses a good deal of its humanity, and you’ll swear that “you’ve heard that before somewhere” more than once. Black Rivers is a flawed project, without a doubt. However, and it’s almost criminal how cheesy this sounds – they dare to dream. It’s true, though. Just when you think you know exactly where a track is headed, they flip everything on its side. Sometimes it’s just an unexpected vocal inflection or intensity that steers away from the trend-set curve, other times it is far more obvious. For instance, they follow up a trio of fairly standard indie-pop tunes with an alluring, cryptic three and a half minute instrumental (well, for all intents and purposes, because technically there are some spoken words echoed in the background) in ‘Harbour Lights.’ ‘Beyond The Pines’ also follows in this vein. It’s the kind of thing that run-of-the-mill bands attempt all the time in an attempt to seem artistically inclined, but Black Rivers actually pulls it off for a couple of reasons. First, the aforementioned tracks aren’t awful desperation grabs in the general direction of ambition – they actually help grow the album. Secondly, they aren’t randomly juxtaposed alongside other songs that have no business being together. There’s rhyme to their reason, and the album’s flow is dictated with confidence rather than precarious doubt. The whole thing is refreshing, and Black Rivers’ willingness to experiment is a trait that will definitely resonate with you following the album’s conclusion.

As I mentioned before though, there’s a percentage of this band’s sound and overall approach that is rooted right into the center of the indie-pop mainstream craze. The implication is that it automatically makes it bad, although that isn’t quite the case. Just like with any genre of music, there are artists that pursue the exact same goal but achieve entirely different outcomes. In the end, it boils down to two key ingredients: talent and execution. The first is a strength for Black Rivers, featuring the aforementioned Doves members Jez and Andy Williams, both of whom are seasoned indie-rock veterans. The second isn’t an overt weakness by any means, but it is where the ship tends to rock a little. Their performances are torn between ones that remain on safe ground, and ones that step off the boat and plunge into the unknown. The problem is that they never manage to do either. Obviously we’d all love to see them take a leap of faith, but their commitment to certain formulas do help them out from time to time. ‘The Forest’ has one of the most infectious melodies I’ve heard all year, and it always sends a small chill up my spine because I can’t help likening it to a lost Shins masterpiece. My main problem with the band’s inability to just completely lose themselves isn’t that I think their more traditional songs are boring, it’s that I see something in them that I don’t in every dime-in-a-dozen indie-pop band. The truth is, anyone can dream. It doesn’t take a savant to know how to be different. However, and absolutely crucially, Black Rivers have the savvy and bottom line expertise to actually pull it off. Just listen to ‘The Wind That Shakes The Barley’ for proof of that. They have this way of integrating new sounds, some wildly misfit, and having it all sound dynamic and completely harmonic. At their best, Black Rivers are magic. They just don’t always show us that side.

This is obviously a band that has a lot of places it could go. Jez and Andy could decide to scrap it and re-focus on Doves, but that would be a mistake. They could do what just about everyone expects them to do, and follow this up in the future with another accessible, borderline risky piece that piques our interest but doesn’t ensnare it. That’s about the size of this album. Or, and hopefully this is the case, they round up of all of their best traits – the experience, the tune-sense, their knack for indie-pop – and turn it into something truly brilliant by letting go of all their inhibitions. Here's to hoping they don't take the safe route.



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user ratings (8)
3.1
good

Comments:Add a Comment 
Sowing
Moderator
February 15th 2015


44509 Comments

Album Rating: 3.0

I would have included a soundcloud embed but the only two songs on their site are literally the worst examples of what I'm getting at in this review.

zakalwe
February 15th 2015


40148 Comments


Nice.
Doves hold a place near to my heart.
Giving this a spin now and its started off on the right foot.

zakalwe
February 15th 2015


40148 Comments


First listen over with and this is absolutley lovely.

Sowing
Moderator
February 15th 2015


44509 Comments

Album Rating: 3.0

Yeah I forgot to mention it's a relatively short album, very easy to listen to in one sitting. It's a great blend of catchy familiar stuff and moderate experimenting. Have a favorite track?

Observer
Emeritus
February 15th 2015


9453 Comments


Damn you can produce. Jealous

Sowing
Moderator
February 15th 2015


44509 Comments

Album Rating: 3.0

Thanks Ponton =)

Tunaboy45
February 16th 2015


18562 Comments


Nice review Sowing, might have to give this a listen

Sowing
Moderator
February 16th 2015


44509 Comments

Album Rating: 3.0

Basically if you like Shins worship, then this is for

you. Except this band is a noticeable cut above

your average imitator.



They have some really good ideas and implement them

well.

Sowing
Moderator
February 16th 2015


44509 Comments

Album Rating: 3.0

My experience with Doves is fairly limited, but in my opinion this is different - more of a mysterious vibe. And thank you, that's much appreciated =)

uziclip
February 17th 2015


118 Comments


Tired of indie

Sowing
Moderator
February 17th 2015


44509 Comments

Album Rating: 3.0

That's cool, I was actually wondering if you were.

uziclip
February 18th 2015


118 Comments


Lol

zakalwe
February 18th 2015


40148 Comments


What's with the lack of interest? This is great.

Sowing
Moderator
February 18th 2015


44509 Comments

Album Rating: 3.0

Yeah I dunno haha. If I reviewed Meghan Trainor I'd get 1,000 comments within a month. I review a pretty decent up and coming indie band, and no one shows up to the party besides a handful of 2.5's. Meh, maybe it's just me who likes it.

zakalwe
February 18th 2015


40148 Comments


And me dude, it's got things TDAG aspires to but never reaches :D, you touch upon it in the review which is superb I have to add.

Acquiescence
May 10th 2017


3 Comments

Album Rating: 5.0

This album is a masterpiece in my humble opinion. Up there with the best of Doves.



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