Riverhead
Self-Titled
Self-Released
Street: 03.01
Riverhead = old and new Depeche Mode + Massive Attack + Love & Rockets
I’ve known guitarist Michael Burgess for years, but if I had not looked at the band name, I’d never have guessed this gorgeous, fantastically dark pop album was a local product. Synthy trip-hop tracks like “Revolver” and “Protection” worm their way into your head and stay there for days. Yet just when it all starts to sound almost too slick, they drop in a wake up call like “Emptiness Returns” with its glitchy noise backing track and intense, whispered vocals that reminds me why Riverhead has played in goth venues for years. Excellently engineered by Hyrum Summerhays (Eden’s Watchtower), the sound is tight, rich and nuanced. There is no good reason this isn’t getting local “alternative” radio airplay, and no reason at all why Riverhead aren’t superstars. Forget the next pre-packaged indie-pop “sensation”—good music begins at home. Listen to this anytime, all the time, now, tomorrow, and forever.