​Wild Rivers Sidelines

​Wild Rivers (from Sidelines on Nettwerk Records) (by Lee Zimmerman)
 
With Sidelines, their second full-length long player, Wild Rivers continues to build on the impressive trajectory initiated with 2016’s self-titled debut and the two EPs that followed, 2018’s Eighty Eight, and Songs to Break Up To, which followed two years later. Indeed, their accomplishments have been impressive so far, what with over 200 million streams and some 100,000 followers on Spotify.
 
Naturally though, numbers don’t tell the entire story. Their music is tailor-made for millennials like themselves, twenty-somethings who endeavor to work their way beyond adolescent intrigue into nascent maturity, all the while sorting out the complexities of the present while still clinging tenaciously to the past. It’s an awkward transition to be sure, but one they seem willing to embrace. ‘The more I see, the less I know about it’ they insist on the contemplative opener “More or Less”, a song that more or less sets the tone for the album overall. That’s not to say Wild Rivers are a morose bunch…not by a long shot. Despite their efforts to grapple with uncertainty, certain songs — “Bedrock”, “Stubborn Heart”, “Weatherman”, and “Amsterdam” — are cautiously optimistic, flush with a warm embrace and a full feeling of genuine possibility.

That said, the moments of melancholia are seemingly unavoidable. “Long Time”, “Falling Apart”, “Neon Stars”, and “Untouchable” share a measure of uncertainty, a feeling that lingers just below throughout. Fortunately, though, that doesn’t deter from the promise and possibilities that envisioned overall. Likewise, with the melodic quotient thoroughly imbued in both the music and motif, the sheer beauty shared through these songs share rarely fail to leave their listeners in thrall.
 
Clearly then, Wild Rivers strike a responsive chord. They mine emotions that are often felt, but not necessarily expressed, during these turbulent, tumultuous times. Given its gentle folk-like lilt and flow, Sidelines offers a nuanced, yet needed, measure of assurance. (By Lee Zimmerman)
 
Listen and buy the music of Wild Rivers from AMAZON
 
Please visit the Wild Rivers website for more information

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