“The Tide Is Turning” is straight in. No intro. No preamble. As if Grace Bond is desperate to get it all out there.
It sounds raw, too. Perhaps more raw than When Rivers Meet have for a while.
But when they offer “the script’s not written yet” on “The Script”, you can only imagine it is autobiographical.
You see, Grace and Aaron Bond have been playing it their way for years. No rulebook says a totally independent band gets two Top 10 albums. They have.
They even found the time to have a baby since the last one, released last year, and perhaps because there are more important things than music right now, “Rhythm Rust & Static” has a freedom about it.
“Caught In The Middle” seems to directly draw on this push and pull, but with a swing that suggests they already know exactly what they are going to do.
Appreciably tougher than the one they put out last year, “Fatal Attraction” sees Aaron take the lead vocals, as he has done more recently, on a tale of destructive love.
But one of the things that has always made WRM special is their ability to switch gear. On the superb “Horizon”, they do it mid-song, moving from something folk-rooted to something a little more bluesy and back again. It feels like a bit of a statement.
The drums on “I’m Ready For You” anchor that one down, and Grace almost dares you to doubt her in the chorus. Don’t take her on would be my advice.
There is such confidence about the songwriting here. “Uncharted Land” embraces fear and vulnerability by having Grace sing with no music at points. “I trust my voice,” she sings, and well she might.
“Fault Line” is a mix of riffs and strut, and if they sound together there, then there is a cohesive feel about the whole record.
Things get a little unsettling on “My Time Is Done”, and the music matches the spiral.
And, as they often do, they end things on a quiet note. “Bring Life” deals directly with parenthood. “I know my life is changing too, bringing life into the world.”
But if everything is altering, then one thing isn’t. When Rivers Meet are still making classy music that doesn’t sound quite like anyone else.
To release a record quite as fresh as “Rhythm Rust & Static” almost a decade after their debut is quite something.
Rating 8.5/10
