The award-winning British blues band WHEN RIVERS MEET whose tonal architecture we have described as described as toe-tapping rhythms, acoustic jangle, hip-grinding swing, and exploratory verse structures will issue their new album “Aces Are High” via One Road Records on September 8th 2023.
WRM, consisting of Grace Bond (vocals, mandolin, violin) and Aaron Bond (vocals, guitar), speedily established themselves as one of the most intriguing acts in British blues music since their inception in 2019. Since then they have received various prizes and countrywide acclaim for their distinctive blend of Americana, folk, blues, and rock.
Regarding the new album, the duo says, “As our music is progressing, we’re finding our sound even more. When we went in the studio this time, we’ve never been so sure on what we wanted to create—we had a really clear vision and have stuck to it.”
“Before we held back on being too rocky, but this time we allowed ourselves to create what we wanted to hear, without restricting ourselves. We also allowed ourselves to express the different colours to our music with tracks like “Golden” and “By Your Side,” so this album has more extremes .”
blistering in its temperamentality!
Raw Ramp Music Magazine
So monumental cinderblocks of guitar kick-start the album and the first number Infected and if you’re in the mood for metallic humming ‘n’ hammering and lots of head-banging this is a great place to be standing (though your limbs will be moving to the rhythms!) Grace’s commanding vocal cut through the gravel & bitumen foundation-layer to deliver crisp purity when the musical textures reach their most ashy and portentous.
The Infected chorus is yielding as an overripe oxblood apricot, yet even though it is fruity & fermented, it is dangerously pleasureful to the ear, and, like many WRM wonders, the song becomes evermore heartily and exquisitely intoxicating.
The third single to be taken from the disc is Seen It All Before (video shared below) and this number has that granulose and almost scuzzily authentic call-and-response style rhythmic patterning that was a trademark of early roots blues. If you like your sounds to be noirish and very smudgy-sultry, this song will promptly become one of your top picks. At times it feels a bit chilly in its architraving… but the frosty duskiness just adds even more psychological impact to the piece. Yep, this song is blistering in its temperamentality!
When we saw WRM perform live in the early summer, they launched their impressive show with Play My Game. It’s sexually charged, and Grace approaches the piece with the fervour of a promenading and eagerly flirtatious ridgeline lynx! But her huskied timbrement is enfolded between the tangled guitar-gloms and those ever-murky and impressively shaded beats. Exquisite!
‘Aces Are High’ opens with an alarming Stuka-like siren from guitar, before the effective and accurate riff-rhythm strafes across the bare skeletons of balustrading sounds. This song bcomes resolutely beautiful and punishingly effective.
While Perfect Stranger, a song about their relationship and how they first met, features straightforward rhythms, strong guitars with gritty tones, and an exceptionally handsome, multifaceted vocal. “We’ve always stuck to a certain structure to create our songs,” admits vocalist, Grace.
“We remain true to ourselves to create the music we love….” adds guitarist Aaron.
This album is for you if you liked the White Stripes’ circa 1999 backwoods metal & blues fusions or the Feet Fall Heavy era Kill It Kid
Words @neilmach 2023 ©
Photos by Blackham Images
The album is released on September 8th and is available to pre-order from: https://shop.whenriversmeet.co.uk/collections/aces-are-high-pre-order
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