These Wicked Rivers – Force Of Nature
Derbyshire heavy blues rock n rollers These Wicked Rivers (John Hartwell - lead vocals, rhythm guitar; Arran Day - lead guitar, backing vocals; John Hallam - bass; Dan Southall - drums) have followed up hard hitting debut album Eden with Force Of Nature.
In the early going the album certainly lives up to its title, as well as giving a flavour of the high-energy nature of the band in the live environment.
The title track, which opens the album, is a full-on southern rock tinged number complete with verse lyrics sung between the muscular guitar lines. The song also includes an impressive guitar solo (with an equally impressive ascending bass line in support) and a chorus that provides ample opportunity for crowd participation in the live setting.
'The Family' initially follows the template of the title track, with similar, almost A capella vocal parts in the verses, but the song also features some thoughtful twin guitar parts towards the end and a rousing, crescendo finish.
Following number 'Black Gold' is in a similar tempo to the two preceding numbers and, again, favours verses sung within the gaps of instrumentation.
It's a strong start, but perveresly the similarity/ lack of variety tends to have the first three numbers blend together (a different track sequencing would have better served the album).
However variety is duly delivered with the slower tempo of the grungy, southern-tinged and riff driven 'Testify' (first heard on the band’s II EP of 2017), which carries echoes of both Led Zeppelin and the Black Crowes.
A weighty, brooding album highlight.
The tempo is dropped further with 'When the War is Won' (another first heard on II).
Akin to a slow blues with a Hendrix vibe, it also shows that the band have a good sense of dynamics, as the song builds towards the guitar solo, then brought back down to a repeat of the intro.
The gritty, 70s styled rock of 'The Riverboat Man,' a southern-tinged tale celebrating the underdog spirit, ups the tempo once again to deliver another album highlight (iIt's also another guaranteed to be a live winner).
Contrast comes by way of 'Just To Be a Man,' a downtempo ballad that has the unexpected but welcome inclusion of a string section before the tempo is kicked up for the well executed guitar solo. The song then drops to a refrain of its acoustic intro.
Proceedings are then kicked up a notch or three with the heavily riff driven 'Lord Knows,' which veers into Pearl Jam territory (these guys can certainly rock out).
Further contrast is provided by 'Don’t Pray For Me' (the third revisit from the II EP), which starts in organ backed, confessional fashion ("I've been a poor man, I've been a sore man, I've been every man in between") before settling in to a mid-tempo, heavy southern blues. The song, which features John Hartwell’s most impassioned vocal of the album, then shifts to an up-tempo, guitar crying passage before returning to the lyrical refrain of its opening. Another highlight.
Final number 'Lonely Road' is a short, acoustic-and-vocal number with tastefully arranged string parts.
It’s a mournful song to close out the album but it does provide an afterword, of sorts, to 'Don’t Pray For Me,' with "it’s a lonely road to hell" lyric outro.
Force Of Nature is a much stronger offering than Eden and a far more rounded representation of what These Wicked Rivers are all about.
The track sequencing doesn’t do the overall flow of the album any favours, but it most assuredly points to a band that are becoming a rock and roll force to be reckoned with.
Nelson McFarlane
FabricationsHQ
In the early going the album certainly lives up to its title, as well as giving a flavour of the high-energy nature of the band in the live environment.
The title track, which opens the album, is a full-on southern rock tinged number complete with verse lyrics sung between the muscular guitar lines. The song also includes an impressive guitar solo (with an equally impressive ascending bass line in support) and a chorus that provides ample opportunity for crowd participation in the live setting.
'The Family' initially follows the template of the title track, with similar, almost A capella vocal parts in the verses, but the song also features some thoughtful twin guitar parts towards the end and a rousing, crescendo finish.
Following number 'Black Gold' is in a similar tempo to the two preceding numbers and, again, favours verses sung within the gaps of instrumentation.
It's a strong start, but perveresly the similarity/ lack of variety tends to have the first three numbers blend together (a different track sequencing would have better served the album).
However variety is duly delivered with the slower tempo of the grungy, southern-tinged and riff driven 'Testify' (first heard on the band’s II EP of 2017), which carries echoes of both Led Zeppelin and the Black Crowes.
A weighty, brooding album highlight.
The tempo is dropped further with 'When the War is Won' (another first heard on II).
Akin to a slow blues with a Hendrix vibe, it also shows that the band have a good sense of dynamics, as the song builds towards the guitar solo, then brought back down to a repeat of the intro.
The gritty, 70s styled rock of 'The Riverboat Man,' a southern-tinged tale celebrating the underdog spirit, ups the tempo once again to deliver another album highlight (iIt's also another guaranteed to be a live winner).
Contrast comes by way of 'Just To Be a Man,' a downtempo ballad that has the unexpected but welcome inclusion of a string section before the tempo is kicked up for the well executed guitar solo. The song then drops to a refrain of its acoustic intro.
Proceedings are then kicked up a notch or three with the heavily riff driven 'Lord Knows,' which veers into Pearl Jam territory (these guys can certainly rock out).
Further contrast is provided by 'Don’t Pray For Me' (the third revisit from the II EP), which starts in organ backed, confessional fashion ("I've been a poor man, I've been a sore man, I've been every man in between") before settling in to a mid-tempo, heavy southern blues. The song, which features John Hartwell’s most impassioned vocal of the album, then shifts to an up-tempo, guitar crying passage before returning to the lyrical refrain of its opening. Another highlight.
Final number 'Lonely Road' is a short, acoustic-and-vocal number with tastefully arranged string parts.
It’s a mournful song to close out the album but it does provide an afterword, of sorts, to 'Don’t Pray For Me,' with "it’s a lonely road to hell" lyric outro.
Force Of Nature is a much stronger offering than Eden and a far more rounded representation of what These Wicked Rivers are all about.
The track sequencing doesn’t do the overall flow of the album any favours, but it most assuredly points to a band that are becoming a rock and roll force to be reckoned with.
Nelson McFarlane
FabricationsHQ