VOICES IN MY HEAD

This is a nice maxi-EP with 23:26 minutes of new songs and 13:08 of live songs from their first album. Us starts things off with a gentle acoustic guitar number with very light, laid back vocals. Acronym Love starts off with a solo piano and vocal section for the first 1.5 minutes before the rest of the band joins in. The song has a very melancholic atmosphere and some fantastic blues guitar playing. In fact, the guitar has a very Floydish feel with a great ending solo. DNA ts. Rednum or F.Raf is a bit more up-tempo than the previous two tracks with a harder bassline and a slow, rhythmmically industrial style drumming. This then gives way to a slow acoustic piece in the middle before building to a stronger climax. The Time I Was Daydreaming really reminds me of one of the slower Waters-less era Floyd tracks. Soft vocals backed by an acoustic guitar accented by electric blues guitar played overtop. About 3min into the song the drums and keyboards kick in still maintaining that Floydian atmosphere. Stuck Between sounds like it would have fit well on Rick Wright's Broken China release. It features a simple but distinctive drum pattern, acoustic guitar, and atmospheric keyboards. There's some nice acapella vocals at the end of the song showcasing their vocal harmonies quite well.

All in all, the new tracks are a lighter offering than their two studio albums. However, that is not to say that these songs are wimpy or uninteresting. Far from that because the songs are very well writting, atmospheric, and captivating. That is perhaps what makes Riverside so amazing; they can play very heavy when they want to, but they choose to be judicious about their use of heaviness. Instead they focus on strong compositions and incredible sonic textures. If you are a fan of the two studio albums, then you owe it to yourself to shell out the $15 to buy a copy of this EP. It's tough to track down, but I found that "The Laser's Edge" record label / store has them in stock.