Alarming changes in the River’s grand new efforts
August 26, 2014
The controlled sounds of an acoustic performance roll steadily as they embrace the landscape. The strings of the guitar billow around those of the violin and breeze soft amid the drum and tambourine.
It was 2010 when English indie rock band Dry the River released its debut album “Shallow Bed.” Since then, the band has spent its time working out melodies in a cordial effort for its latest release.
The band’s latest album, “Alarms in the Heart,” released on Aug. 26. The performance, amid this soundscape, differs greatly compared to its previous effort.
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Although the first album possessed many boisterous crescendos among its most eloquent of songs, such as the stripped-down version of “Bible Belt,” the band has now mastered that sound.
The new album from Dry the River boasts a majority of this strength, the power from hard-strummed guitars and bass lines amid chaotic clangs from the drums.
This album, perhaps garnered one significant difference with the absence of the violin. Without the tranquility of the violin, it seems the band had no other choice than to produce this truly rock-oriented sound.
However, its roots are still evident and the band has not horrifically altered any of the beauty existent in its previous sound. They have simply one-upped themselves.
It seems Dry the River had quite a yearning for growth and it is evident in this album. One such song is “Gethsemane,” which displays its growth and difference in sound perhaps in a bolder fashion than any on the album.
The band does manage to pull off its power trip perfectly with its single “Everlasting Light.” This track provides the necessity of chorus, similar to many songs from “Shallow Bed,” while also remaining in the rock groove by keeping the up the pace.
With this in mind, “Gethsemane” can be likened to “Bible Belt” for its lack of chorus as it focuses on a verse-verse-bridge narrative. “Everlasting Light,” on the other hand focuses on the pop formula of verse-chorus, similar in production to “The Chambers and the Valves” or “History Book.”
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What is the most prominent alteration is the use of electric guitar. Although “Shallow Bed” was no stranger to it, the utilization here is much more subversive, in that it creates a droning sound different than the previous album.
The guitar is distorted through a great deal of reverb, as the production value for the album seems significantly higher then 4 years ago.
The album opens with the eponymous “Alarms in the Heart” and continues into “Hidden Hand” and “Roman Candle,” all producing catchy yet intriguing melodies, with the latter featuring a guest vocalist.
By the end of the album, the tracks simply feature a similar construction, but there is a hidden track titled “Husk.” This track features more intricate guitar moves, as there are pizzicato taps within its ambient droning of the electronic production.
In its entirety, “Alarms in the Heart” replicates growth in both electric production, poetical lyricism and catchy hooks that are all mass-produced in new and clever ways.
Dry the River delivers an album shocking in its growth and admirable for its persistence and dedication. The album may find difficulty in replicating stripped-down performances that the tracks from “Shallow Bed” so easily managed, but at least as a whole, it continues to satisfy, even in a new, up-beat direction.
Jake Saunders can be reached at [email protected]
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