Concert Review: Wild Rivers Run At Mercury Lounge

Failures terrify humanity so much that it rarely discusses this fear in public. Yet, we rely on music to acknowledge the inners working of our soul we pray always remain private. At Mercury Lounge,  Wild Rivers made the ambiance feel safe in singing songs about how unsafe we feel.

By all means, Wild Rivers are a folk band. They use their simple chords as beds for their complex lyrics to lay their wearied/ dreamy emotions. As Khalid Yassein and Devan Glover harmonized through tracks like, “Call It A Night,” “I Won’t Be Back,” and “Already Gone,” you pick up that they are singing to your life in motion; prompting you to ask whether regret comes more from what you did or did not do in your life. Thus, whether they are rolling their guitars and drums like tumbleweeds in a sandstorm or plucking them like petals from an orchid, every move they make is to push that it is your soul that moves your body. I realized that message in their track: “Paul Simon.”

It was one lyric that did me in: “washed up stuntman.” That simple verse, suddenly, opened me up to the wealth of wisdom that comes in songs such as, “Howling,” “Speak Too Soon,” and new track “Moving Target.”  Wild Rivers were emotionally roaring and whimpering on the times you said, “F**K IT!” and went for what you wanted, the moments when you just watched and stayed wanting it, and the instances when you felt you have tried too much to keep losing. The sentiments were impactful, and spoke to a crowd of New Yorkers that understand efforts are nice but winning is better. Luckily, Khalid’s voice drips like steel to solidify lyrics, while Devan’s voice courses like rainclouds; pouring a sweet, hued life into them. Together, their voices untie like folk superheroes; emboldening that this genre was made to make you see how you make yourself. For More Information On Wild Rivers Click Here.