Like many of iTunes’ free singles of the week, “New Ceremony” by Dry the River went unnoticed by most listeners. After downloading the song and listening to it twice, I had to have the album. The free single was great, but nothing close to the rest of the album. The debut album “Shallow Bed” by Dry the River is a hodgepodge of alternative rock sounds. Every song is a gem and the entire album sparkles.
Dry the River is a band from London that has only recently received attention. Their debut album was released in April in the U.S. Although they have their own sound, they have been compared to Mumford & Sons for sharing the same London folk vibe.
The album opens with a soft rock song, “Animal Skins” that gives you a small taste of what the rest of the album will sound like. You hear the band’s consistent guitar sound, and you get a sense of the lead singer, Peter Liddle’s voice. The track starts on a catchy note and moves forward onto bigger and better sounds.
“Shallow Bed” moves all around the alt-rock genre. The songs vary from solid soft rock such as “History Book,” to sleepy sad songs that make you curl up and think of an unrequited love like “Demons” and “No Rest,” to full on rock songs like “Lion’s Den” and “New Ceremony” that make you want to dance and sing along. In addition to the guitar and drums in every song, Dry the River also mixes in trumpets, violins, and other strings, giving each song a new and different feeling.
Most songs on the album also jump from genre to genre within the song. Frequently, the song’s intro has a completely different feel than the rest of it. For example, “The Chambers and the Valves” opens with a soft melody but by the chorus its full instrumental sound will have you swaying.
The song “Weights & Measures” simply drips sadness and will leave an impact on you. The drawn out notes of the lead singer and the beautiful but forlorn lyrics make you want to crawl under the covers and stare out into space where you imagine that one person with whom it should have worked out. As Liddle accepts the ending of the possibilities with a girl, the song slowly leaves its depressed state and gets faster, acknowledging the ending of the relationship.
One of the best parts of the album is the linking of two songs. The song “Demons” ends in a riff that ebbs its way into the next song, “Bible Belt,” creating a seamless shift. It sounds like one long song until you realize it has changed. Both songs are sad yet sweet, and different from the head nodding, foot tapping rock on the album.
Every song on the album “Shallow Bed” is incredible. The varying sounds create a multi-faceted album that pleases almost all ears.
