Dry the River: Shallow Bed

Date
04/17/2012

London-based indie folk-rock band Dry the River, one of my favorite music discoveries of 2011, will release the MUCH-anticipated (wow, I’ve been drooling over this all year) album Shallow Bed on April 17, 2012, produced by Peter Katis (The National, Interpol). Developing a tremendous grassroots following after playing a string of New York shows in late 2011, and then selling out London’s renowned Scala, the band went on to sweep the blogosphere after SXSW and be featured in an interview / live performance on NPR.
Yippee! Shout their name from every rooftop (or, umm, Google Reader). Some bands are so good that even after much deliberation, I can’t find acceptable words to describe them. You should probably just click below to see what I mean.

“You can see why people get confused: this five-piece band has all the hallmarks of the latest folk sensation: elemental name, beards, acoustic guitars, even a violinist. But what sets Dry the River apart is a background in hardcore and post-punk bands, hence the tattoos, lyrics that read like a Steinbeck novel and a sonic palette that sweeps from gentle to giant like an incoming storm.
“We wanted to record the bulk of it to tape, to use analogue stuff in favour of computer wizardry where possible, but without it sounding like an old folk record. I think we tried to preserve the fragility and honesty of the more stripped down tracks, but still get the intensity of the live show across too – to marry those two aspects of our music without it sounding incongruous…I’d be pleased if people felt that it’s not just another indie folk record,” says [singer, Peter] Liddle. “I think we’ve agonised over every note of it. It has some hooks and big melodies but it’s contemplative and considered too.” Dry the River have laid the groundwork for a stellar year in 2012. Don’t call them the next great folk band. Just call them the next great band, full stop.” —Dry the River’s biography

Watch the video for Dry the River’s smashing track “New Ceremony”

Check out my favorite track off their last EP “No Rest”