TRACKLISTING
Side A:
Stars In Aspic
Side B:
It's Here
CREDITS
Nathan Amundson - guitar, voice
Francesco Candura - bass
Nathan Vollmar - drums
Recorded & mixed by Eric Swanson at Sacred Heart Music Center, Duluth
Side A mastered by Mark Beazley at Trace Recordings, London
Side B mastered by Fraser McGowan at Acoustic Autumn, Paisley
Additional mastering and production by Fraser McGowan.
Written by Nathan Amundson © 2013 Rivulets, BMI
Photography by Christy Romanick
Artwork design by Georgina Richardson
Side A:
Stars In Aspic
Side B:
It's Here
CREDITS
Nathan Amundson - guitar, voice
Francesco Candura - bass
Nathan Vollmar - drums
Recorded & mixed by Eric Swanson at Sacred Heart Music Center, Duluth
Side A mastered by Mark Beazley at Trace Recordings, London
Side B mastered by Fraser McGowan at Acoustic Autumn, Paisley
Additional mastering and production by Fraser McGowan.
Written by Nathan Amundson © 2013 Rivulets, BMI
Photography by Christy Romanick
Artwork design by Georgina Richardson
ARTWORK
REVIEWS
Nathan Amundson induces the pastoral poignancy of Sherwood Anderson and Breece DJ Pancake for opening gambit Stars In Aspic, a heatfelt hymnal signifying heroic defeats while realising the tender porch-side tragedies of Califone associates, Sin Ropas. Meanwhile the flip sieves the insolvency of a delinquent supernova, mining ominous, almost Koner/Deathprod-like thrum, to harvest a micro-Andromeda of particle ebb and flow.
- Record Collector Magazine, May 2014 edition
Trome Records has released the Stars in Aspic / It’s Here 7-inch single, which offers a full-band near-shuffle, that reaches for rays of light through the murkiness with its largely major key electric strumming. And perhaps most interesting is “It’s Here,” three minutes of spaced out guitar drone, which realizes, as Amundson himself might say, the “experimental drone ambient head” tendencies he has hinted at over the years. Unlike others in the bleak singer-songwriter camp, Rivulets has managed to grow artistically and aurally over the years. These new singles are certainly worth the time and investment. - Decoder
der veröffentlichungen mangelt es nicht, der qualität der musik sowieso nicht. mit nathan amundson aka rivulets aus denver treffen wir neuerlich auf den burschen mit der leisepfotigen stimme, der sparsamen begleitung, der tiefgründigkeit und weisheit in liedern, die wie kletten an einem haften, wenn sie einen mal erwischt haben. dass man nicht wie ein igel mit nadeln bespickt durch die gegend läuft, dafür sorgt nathan mit punktuell gesetzten releases. mit der aktuellen single "stars in aspic" / "it's here" setzt er heuer allerdings ein besonderes ausrufezeichen, weil es sich dabei um seine erste solo vinyl veröffentlichung handelt und seine erste physische seit 2011. mit trome records hat er hierfür einen partner gefunden, der die 7" auf 250 stück limitiert hat. die a-seite ist von lichter farbgebung, schlicht ausgemustert, mit segenstiftender textur. americana in seiner ursprünglichsten form vielleicht. eine still mäandernde gitarre, ein perkussives schlagwerk, ein steter bass. dazu erhebt sich nathans stimme, als wolle sie die atmosphäre nicht allzu sehr brechen. dafür sorgt das dreiköpfige ensemble, neben amundson werden francesco candura und nathan vollmar aktiv, dann schon selbst. bekräftigend werden die saiten und felle fester genommen. zur b-seite, die hier noch ungehört blieb, heißt es: "it’s here" on side b hails from the opposite end of the rivulets sound palette, with a deep, brooding late-night guitar ambient drone." hoffentlich sind diese beiden neuen tracks ein fingerzeig auf baldiges mehr. angefügt sei noch der track "the fire", der ebenfalls im februar dieses jahres erschien, es handelt sich um einen digital only release.
- Das Klienicum
È la rediviva etichetta londinese Trome a ospitare il singolo che, a sua volta, interrompe il silenzio di Nathan Amundson seguito al suo quarto album “We’re Fucked” (2011). In appena sei minuti e mezzo, le due tracce di “Stars In Aspic” riassumono l’intero profilo dell’artista di Duluth: la title track è un saggio di introspezione che si apre a corposi arpeggi slow-core, mentre “It’s Here” sviluppa in tremuli riverberi l’interesse ambientale di Amundson.
Duplice piacevole ritorno, non solo per cultori. - Music Won't Save You and Rockerilla Magazine April 2014
I'm not familiar with this band Rivulets but when Phil handed this 7" to me yesterday he said it was the first thing they'd done in ages and they were a bit like Low. He's right to some extent, as 'Stars In Aspic' itself sounds an awful lot like Duluth's finest, the plaintive vocals, the slowly strummed guitar, that church-like stillness even in what the press release tells us is the rock-out section. I suppose everything is relative. It's a gorgeous bit of old fashioned slowcore like I didn't know anybody made any more.
Over on the other side is something completely different. This is some kind of slow-burning drone piece with drawn-out Deathprod-esque melodies and subtle swelling chords of wibbling analogue dread. Really good, actually, although if drone music is good I can find the 7" format a little brief, and that's certainly the case here. If you're into all things sad and slow, you should pick this up. 8/10 - Norman Records
Nathan Amundson induces the pastoral poignancy of Sherwood Anderson and Breece DJ Pancake for opening gambit Stars In Aspic, a heatfelt hymnal signifying heroic defeats while realising the tender porch-side tragedies of Califone associates, Sin Ropas. Meanwhile the flip sieves the insolvency of a delinquent supernova, mining ominous, almost Koner/Deathprod-like thrum, to harvest a micro-Andromeda of particle ebb and flow.
- Record Collector Magazine, May 2014 edition
Trome Records has released the Stars in Aspic / It’s Here 7-inch single, which offers a full-band near-shuffle, that reaches for rays of light through the murkiness with its largely major key electric strumming. And perhaps most interesting is “It’s Here,” three minutes of spaced out guitar drone, which realizes, as Amundson himself might say, the “experimental drone ambient head” tendencies he has hinted at over the years. Unlike others in the bleak singer-songwriter camp, Rivulets has managed to grow artistically and aurally over the years. These new singles are certainly worth the time and investment. - Decoder
der veröffentlichungen mangelt es nicht, der qualität der musik sowieso nicht. mit nathan amundson aka rivulets aus denver treffen wir neuerlich auf den burschen mit der leisepfotigen stimme, der sparsamen begleitung, der tiefgründigkeit und weisheit in liedern, die wie kletten an einem haften, wenn sie einen mal erwischt haben. dass man nicht wie ein igel mit nadeln bespickt durch die gegend läuft, dafür sorgt nathan mit punktuell gesetzten releases. mit der aktuellen single "stars in aspic" / "it's here" setzt er heuer allerdings ein besonderes ausrufezeichen, weil es sich dabei um seine erste solo vinyl veröffentlichung handelt und seine erste physische seit 2011. mit trome records hat er hierfür einen partner gefunden, der die 7" auf 250 stück limitiert hat. die a-seite ist von lichter farbgebung, schlicht ausgemustert, mit segenstiftender textur. americana in seiner ursprünglichsten form vielleicht. eine still mäandernde gitarre, ein perkussives schlagwerk, ein steter bass. dazu erhebt sich nathans stimme, als wolle sie die atmosphäre nicht allzu sehr brechen. dafür sorgt das dreiköpfige ensemble, neben amundson werden francesco candura und nathan vollmar aktiv, dann schon selbst. bekräftigend werden die saiten und felle fester genommen. zur b-seite, die hier noch ungehört blieb, heißt es: "it’s here" on side b hails from the opposite end of the rivulets sound palette, with a deep, brooding late-night guitar ambient drone." hoffentlich sind diese beiden neuen tracks ein fingerzeig auf baldiges mehr. angefügt sei noch der track "the fire", der ebenfalls im februar dieses jahres erschien, es handelt sich um einen digital only release.
- Das Klienicum
È la rediviva etichetta londinese Trome a ospitare il singolo che, a sua volta, interrompe il silenzio di Nathan Amundson seguito al suo quarto album “We’re Fucked” (2011). In appena sei minuti e mezzo, le due tracce di “Stars In Aspic” riassumono l’intero profilo dell’artista di Duluth: la title track è un saggio di introspezione che si apre a corposi arpeggi slow-core, mentre “It’s Here” sviluppa in tremuli riverberi l’interesse ambientale di Amundson.
Duplice piacevole ritorno, non solo per cultori. - Music Won't Save You and Rockerilla Magazine April 2014
I'm not familiar with this band Rivulets but when Phil handed this 7" to me yesterday he said it was the first thing they'd done in ages and they were a bit like Low. He's right to some extent, as 'Stars In Aspic' itself sounds an awful lot like Duluth's finest, the plaintive vocals, the slowly strummed guitar, that church-like stillness even in what the press release tells us is the rock-out section. I suppose everything is relative. It's a gorgeous bit of old fashioned slowcore like I didn't know anybody made any more.
Over on the other side is something completely different. This is some kind of slow-burning drone piece with drawn-out Deathprod-esque melodies and subtle swelling chords of wibbling analogue dread. Really good, actually, although if drone music is good I can find the 7" format a little brief, and that's certainly the case here. If you're into all things sad and slow, you should pick this up. 8/10 - Norman Records