Riverside - The Depth of Self-Delusion

I’ve never been one for rivers, personally. “Oooh, look at me, I’m a big stream. I can handle a boat. Canals? Never heard of them”. Show-offs. Don’t even get me started on oxbow lakes. My sixth form Geography teacher was clearly under the thumb of Big Water Table, the endless propaganda we were subjected to. Nowadays, the only river I’m willing to lounge by the side of is, well, Riverside, the Polish prog-rock maestros. And my English teacher said I’d never make it as a writer, either. The conspiracy must go wider than I thought.

While the comparison to bands like Porcupine Tree or Anathema is there to be made, Riverside’s particular brand of low and slow progressive flow ticks different boxes. It’s thinking music, but for those who want their thinking to be interrupted by bits of jazz or the occasional chunky riff, possibly to make sure you’re still awake to avoid the man who comes round to check fishing permits. It’s got airy, floaty atmosphere to lose yourself in - in no small part due to bassist and vocalist Maruisz Duda’s sonorous tones – but there are punctuation marks, too. It makes you feel like you’ve got all the time in the world, with sudden reminders that the world outside hasn’t stopped turning for your lounging in the sunshine. Cheery stuff.

There’s even less cheery news, too; as of four months ago, Duda and guitarist Maciej Meller are no longer part of the lineup, leaving the band’s future in precarious territory. Even without a return (dread the thought), however, the amount of gorgeous music Riverside have contributed to the great big pile of records we’ve produced as a species are well worth digging out and highlighting. The Depth of Self-Delusion might not be the energy burst required to get through another Friday behind a desk, but it’ll be a clear cut choice for the wind-down at home afterwards. As long as the fishing permit man doesn’t catch you. I’m working on the assumption that you also think it’s too rock and roll to pay “The Man” his dues. “What, this long pole with a fishhook on the end? Holding it for a friend, mate”.