Riverside SONGS

The as always fantastic Polish prog band Riverside recently released their fifth studio album Shrine of New Generation Slaves. The artwork for this album, as with all their previous albums, was done by Travis Smith. For anyone who may have been slightly disappointed in their last album Anno Domini High Definition, this completely blows that out of the water.* With each listen to S.O.N.G.S. it grows on me, and I love it even more. I wouldn't be surprised if this remains one of my favorite albums of 2013.

*I enjoyed their last album, but I have read that there were a decent amount of people who were disappointed when comparing it to the Reality Dream Trilogy that was their first three albums (Out of Myself, Second Life Syndrome, and Rapid Eye Movement). Yes that is a tough thing to follow, but Anno Domini High Definition is still a really good album. Riverside can do no wrong for me. /rant

The album consists of eight tracks; "New Generation Slave", "The Depth of Self-Delusion", "Celebrity Touch", "We Got Used to Us", "Feel Like Falling", "Deprived (Irretrievably Lost Imagination)", "Escalator Shrine", and "Coda". Also included on the two disc and vinyl editions were "Night Sessions" parts one and two. From this there has been one single off of the album, "Celebrity Touch" (seen below at the bottom of the review), which the video was directed by Mateusz Winkiel.

As far as the whole concept of the album, Mariusz Duda describes that as follows (x);

The lyrics on the new album deal with different situations we face in our modern times and how we sometimes become enslaved by them and by the style of life they dictate. For instance, we are dominated and bombarded by increasingly stupefying media. The media, in turn, is dominated by more and more people who are known for their well-knownness - Celebrities, the modern representatives of a need which lies deep within us all and is rarely satisfied - the feeling of importance. This feeling, and some of the dilemmas and complications connected with it, is the subject of our newest single - "Celebrity Touch". Musically, we still try to extend the bridge to connect the new music to the old. In this track I think we achieved some kind of original mixture and I hope you will enjoy this piece of new album.

Now this makes me want to draw similarities between S.O.N.G.S. and Porcupine Tree's Fear of a Blank Planet and Nill Recurring as far as lyrical themes, but musically they are completely different (both absolutely fantastic none the less though).

The first song that starts off the album is "New Generation Slave" bringing to the listener some of the themes that will be presented throughout the album. The lyric "The truth is, I am a free man, / but I can't enjoy my life" really goes with the concept of how the current generation is so dependent on social media outlets that while they're free they can not really enjoy the life that they could be having out in the 'real world'.

"The Depth of Self-Delusion" reminds me most of the Reality Dream Trilogy era, both lyrically and the construction of the song. This is one of my favorite songs off the album, just the atmosphere and combining of all the parts to this song with the lyrics are just beautiful. "I could be foreign forever / To your otherland / I could be foreign forevermore / To your promiseland"

"Celebrity Touch" is probably one of the 'heavier' songs on the album, that has a memorable riff in both the bass and guitar. It is really nice, and a solid song for a single filled with the elements that allow the listener to loose themselves in the music.

"We Got Used to Us" is another one of my favorites off of the album, between the lyrics, instrumentation, and the overall mood of the song it just really gets to me every time I listen to it. The repeated chorus that to me connects with how easily people can fall into a life style that they may not light but can't seem to get themselves out of. But with the final lyric "So walk away with me" giving a hope to get out of this cycle of a life.

I know we got used to new us,
and I don't want to be there
I don't want to be there where we are
I know we got used to new life,
and I don't want to be there
No, I don't want to be there where we are

"Feel Like Falling" has a similar sound to "Celebrity Touch" and what was on Anno Domini High Definition, but definitely in a way which has grown and developed since that album. "Deprived" features a soprano sax solo by Marcin Odyniec which really adds a nice jazz element on top of the groove of the song. This song also has Mariusz Duda singing in falsetto which is a nice change as he does does not often do that within Riverside (or what I have heard of Lunatic Soul's albums and his guest vocals in Indukti's S.U.S.A.R.).

"Escalator Shrine" is the longest song on the album (with a time of 12:41), and you can hear how it draws influence from many other prog bands while still maintaining the tone of the album and Riverside's core sound. "Coda" is a simple but excellent way to end the album and all that's happened within it. It leaves Shrine of New Generation Slaves to end with the lyric "I won't collapse / I am set to rise".

"Night Sessions (Part One)" takes on more of an electronic feel than some of Riverside's other songs, in a way which creates an interesting atmosphere one can just relax to. "Night Sessions (Part Two)" features Marcin Odyniec once again, but this time on alto sax. Bringing back the jazz elements with his solo that work so well when combined with Riverside's sound. This song does include some vocals, but they are without lyrics focusing more on using the voice as another texture in the sound. Once again creating a wonderful atmosphere to just listen to, reminding me more of Lunatic Soul than Riverside, but still proving to be an excellent addition to go along with S.O.N.G.S.. Overall this was an excellent album, and I hope to be able to see them live on their mini North American tour.