It's horrible to expect someone to fail miserably, but logical toexpect that as humans everyone has the ability to stumble a bit or fallcompletely. Realistically Nathan Amundson should have put out a recordwith at least one bad song by now. He hasn't, and the trend continueson his new five-song EP, as well as his trend of releasing material onas many labels as possible. Whether he has a huge backlog of materialto support this or he just takes up any offer to release an EP isanyone's guess, but it matters little as the songs are alwaystop-notch. Collaborations with Jessica Bailiff also seem to be aregular occurrence — and never a bad thing — as she provides backupvocals and drums on a few tracks. The only discernible difference fromother work is a slight improvement in production, as Amundson's voiceis clearer and fuller, making the harmonies with Bailiff even moredelectable. Lyrics have always been a highlight, and this releaseincludes some of the best: "You've got your own ego to feed... whycan't you ever say what you mean?" Where Debridementcomes off very introspective, these songs are more outward expression,and even storytelling to a certain extent. Threading it all together isAmundson's often delicate guitar work and passive demeanor. There'snever a true emotional distance, but rarely does he sound very moved bythe words: just plaintively presentational. The highlights are thefinal two tracks, however, as the drums on the first and the electricguitar on the second represent a more aggressive stance than I've heardfrom Rivulets in the past, and a welcome one at that. The hauntingfinal minute of "Slight Return" is alone worth the price of admission,but the whole EP proves once again what a stunning talent is present inthe here and now. More to the point, his songs are still torturous attimes, but he seems less tortured and more confident, and that could bea dangerous proposition on a third full-length.Read More
