Blues in my opinion is a very pure form of music, At it’s best it’s not music you just listen to, It’s music you feel. It was born out of struggle and because everyone knows what struggle and heartache feels like everyone from any place can relate to this genre.
Being from America I’ve always found the symbiotic relationship between my country and the UK very interesting in the evolution of music. In the case of blues I think the UK artists deliver a different take on the genre and there’s a sort of tennis match that gets played between our countries in the evolution of the blues.
When Rivers Meet is a 100% independent band run and led by Grace and Aaron Bond, They share the vocal duties in this band as well as write and play most of the music.
When Rivers Meet deliver a take on the blues that isn’t straightforward, it’s kind of fused with indie folk and rock.
I discovered their music through a Facebook ad where they were giving away their EP Collection for the cost of shipping it and I bought one after giving it a listen.
What immediately drew me in was the vocals of Grace Bond, She has a very beautiful, Emotive, and powerful voice that really takes the fantastic instrumentation on these songs and knocks it out of the park.
Her range goes anywhere from soothingly soft to full gospel singer powerhouse, Aaron provides a more grounded vocal performance to counter Grace’s, Comparing it metaphorically to the dynamic of guitar playing Aaron is the rhythm and Grace is the lead.
When Rivers Meet has released three prior albums: 2020’s We Fly Free, 2021’s Saving Grace, and 2023’s Aces High as well as two EP’s which they combined and released as The Ep Collection.
Addicted To You marks their fourth full length release and sees the band firing on all cylinders, Building on all their musical strengths and the songs are further amplified by the best production this band has had to date.
The album begins with the title track, A catchy indie rocker that has some great grooves to it.
“Break Free” is a great energetic rocker with richly layered instruments and sees Aaron taking the lead on vocals, this song has a great pacing to it that feels more fluid than the title track does.
“Still Standing” lets the blues rock sound they have made their name on show if ever so slightly on this particular track, mid tempo guitar riffs play and Grace takes the lead singing on this track which adds a hypnotic touch to an otherwise great rocking track. It’s songs like this where this band slightly reminds me of Jack White’s other band The Dead Weather.
I’ve listened to this album a few times now and the song that gets stuck in my head more than any other is “Coming Up For Air” which is next up on the list. This is a masterful and borderline cinematic feeling acoustic ballad, Hauntingly beautiful in its execution.
A finger picked acoustic melody plays as Grace and Aaron softly sing, The drumming on this is minimal as are the piano flourishes. A lot of ballads benefit from going over the top when you reach where a song really lifts, But this song doesn’t need that.
A great artist plays in service of the song and even when this song reaches that crescendo Grace and Aaron exercise just enough restraint and I think that really makes it hit perfectly. What an absolutely breathtaking song.
“Never Change” goes back to the blues influence but with a slight jazz influence as well on this grooving rocker, the interplay between the guitar and the piano at the breakdown of this song is fantastic. This one will get you moving.
“Preacher” is just full tilt groove with the whole band firing on all cylinders, there’s so much here to dissect musically and it’s positively enthralling. Grace shows her impressive range off on this song a lot more and I’m here for it, She is truly a remarkable singer.
“Tree Of Life” is another phenomenal ballad, If it weren’t for the bluesy touches I could honestly see Bryan Adams or Adele do something like this. The delicate musical setting allows for Grace to really let some soft and yet powerful vulnerability show in her performance, She takes most of the lead on this song but when Aaron harmonizes with her I think it’s the best they sound together on the record. Another absolute stunner of a song.
“Don’t Want To Fight Anymore” starts out as a beautiful acoustic and electric ballad before the distortion kicks in at the chorus, There is a lot going on in the music of this song for the listener to enjoy if like me you love enjoying a good dive into all of the layers of a complex song.
“Just Let Them” when you read Grace’s inspiration for the lyrics in this song is heartbreaking, She’s got a great post about it on their website if you would like to know the meaning. But I’ll say that ultimately this is a song about choosing to let go. This is a beautiful folk ballad, I won’t say this song musically reaches the musical heights of the other two ballads on this album. Which isn’t to say this isn’t a great song because it is, Sometimes the message of the song is what elevates it and that’s certainly the case here.
Knowing what this is about I can’t imagine how hard it must’ve been to sing this song, I’m always in awe of when musicians put their heart out there with this level of vulnerability. It’s an old cliche but pain really does make beautiful art.
“When Rivers Meet” starts off southern folk sounding before the pace picks up with distortion around the chorus and towards the end where it really takes off, A very energetic high point to end the album on.
I think if I’m critiquing anything here in comparison to their prior albums it’s that there’s not much of the blues element to their sound that they historically have more of on past albums, But they’ve always drawn from several musical styles in their sound.
That’s a small complaint really, Addicted to you is an outstanding album with great performances, great production, and most importantly excellent songs.
8/10
