Dry The River - Weights & Measures

Expectation, buzz, hype. It’s a double-edged sword, isn’t it? And it won’t stop following Dry The River around. Having just returned from a tour with Bombay Bicycle Club, headlined their own sold out show at the Scala and received a raft of positive reviews they now release ‘Weights & Measures’. So, who’s ready to knock them down then, even before their debut album is released next year?

Well, not me. Well, not really. This EP shows a band with a clear idea of their sound. Confident in their creation of pastoral and epic anthems, theirs is a widescreen sound. The title track is nearly as epic as it wants to be. It’s full of elegant melodies, swooping verses and a skyscraping chorus.

Yet the earnestness of the thing wears a bit, even on an EP. Sincerity oozes out of every orifice of the record. It’s dominated by singer Pete Liddle’s voice. It’s a powerful and moving instrument and it leaves the instruments in the shade.

‘Family’ features a plucked guitar and that voice, while ‘Bible Belt (Field Recording)’ is more tender and touching, with its refrain of ‘If it’s dark outside you light the fire yourself’. The cover of Josh T Pearson ‘Thou Art Loosed’ is touching and haunting, the droning guitars forming the perfect platform for that voice.

They claim to be influenced by Springsteen, Cohen and Neil Young, yet there are also unfortunate glimmers of Mumford & Sons. Their success seems to have paved a tweeded path for Dry The River to follow. Of course there are similarities – harmonies and ‘classic’ songwriting – yet this EP suggests Dry The River have the potential to go further and do something special.