Welcome back to the CD Odyssey. I’ve been on a not great streak of late and I’m afraid it is going to continue. They can’t all be winners.
Disc 1690 is…Sidelines
Artist: Wild Rivers
Year of Release: 2022
What’s up with the Cover? Chillin’ in the convertible. Or on the convertible. And, I suppose, beside the convertible. Various aspects of convertibling.
How I Came To Know It: I don’t remember. I know it wasn’t a music review, which usually means it was some encounter I had with someone recommending it. If that was you, and you read this review, it isn’t personal. It is a good record, just not a good record for m.
How It Stacks Up: This is my only album by this band so it can’t stack up.
Rating: 2 stars
Wild Rivers’ “Sidelines” is beautiful music for people that I assume must be much more normal than me. I know I like beautiful music, so my subpar reaction to hearing this can only be ascribed to abnormality. I am simply not normal enough to grok this record in its fullness. Just a desire to grok something has probably put me out of the running.
Before I get into why this record didn’t grab me, I will begin by stating it should be no challenge to like this record. It has a lot going for it. Chill, hangin’at-the-beach grooves, melodies that are easy to pick up, and lyrics that you can sing along to after only two or three listens. This record is like a Corona. A perfectly acceptable beer on a hot summer day that goes down smooth and forgettable.
However, like that Corona, don’t expect this music to surprise you. This stuff is a softball pitch lobbed across centre plate, just daring you to ding it out of the park. And you will, and then you will saunter around the bases for that easy run, an easy skip in your step (these tunes have a lovely slow gallop to them) and a radiant smile at no one in particular. Wanting a baffling exchange with the team mascot as you round third? A chance encounter with a pigeon divebombing from the stadium rafters? If so, this record is not for you.
If you want affable and uncomplicated though, you’ve come to the right place. Helping this affable mood are the performances of vocalists Devan Glover and Khalid Yassein. These two have tone for days. On “Bedrock” Yassein shines, his voice bright and full and perfectly paced. Devan Glover is no slouch either and her solo bits at the front half of “Long Time” almost singlehandedly made my change my outlook on this record. Rich, with a big range, when Glover climbs up into her head voice it feels like your feet are going to leave the floor.
The first person the band thanks in the liner notes is their producer, Peter Katis, and again, it is easy to see why. This production is smooth as hell. At first this is welcome, but after a few songs it started feeling too smooth and perfect. The guitar and piano are so rounded out it is hard to separate them. It isn’t that things get muddy or indistinct – it is an artful separation of sound – but it was my admiration for the technical mastery at work rather than inspiration.
In the end, it was this lack of emotional pull that held me back on “Sidelines”. I didn’t feel emotionally engaged. For some, there is a calming “put it in neutral” effect of this music that could appeal after a hard day. But for me, no matter how tired and worn out I get, I always want to be challenged by what I’m listening to. This is good music for watching the scenery go by while your brain is elsewhere, but I want my music to be imminent, and meaningful in whatever moment I’m sharing it in. I don’t need background music to my life, I need theme music.
I have very little bad to say about this record, and the exceptionally talented writers, musicians and producers that created it. I just wasn’t feeling it. And so, I’ll reluctantly pass this one along to a better home where it’ll get the listens it won’t get in mine.
Best tracks: Bedrock, Long Time
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