Spring is the beautiful new EP from Riverland, following on from their 2013 self-titled debut album.
A substantial offering despite it only being four tracks in duration, Spring is just chock-full of atmosphere and ambience, with quietly stunning instrumentation that sounds both gentle and succinct. A particularly good element of the EP is that it progresses, the songs get longer and more complex, with things building up and up into the grand finale of the closing track Spring,which also serves as the title track. It is certainly a track that is best described as a mini-epic, and it’s an adventurous piece that covers all sorts of different ground, at some point being solely acoustic whilst at other times sounding deliciously proggy: it just has a bit of everything.
There’s only one thing that lets Spring down, however, and it’s the vocals. The delivery is quite uncontrolled and sporadic, and it sometimes sounds very in-your-face, not quite fitting in with the chilled and laid back approach that has been taken for the most part. It’s disappointing because it means the band aren’t quite reaching their full potential; a smoother and more controlled approach would work wonders.
Nevertheless, regardless of the slight vocal issues, Spring is an EP that you simply have to love, and it’s a great little summery release.
7/10
