When Rivers Meet 'Addicted to You' album review: poker hot roots-rock from your new favourite band

Proudly independent artists, When Rivers Meet, scored a top 10 album in the UK charts in 2023 with 'Aces High'. Their latest release, 'Addicted to You', is on track to beat their own personal best and is already number 2 in the midweek charts! Swimming against the tide is what makes Grace and Aaron Bond one of the most exciting bands on the roots music scene.

'Addicted to You' builds on their impressive back catalogue, but this time with a six-piece band, bigger harmonies and a badass production that pulls out the best from the songs.

'Break Free' sees Aaron taking the lead vocal, which suits the track's 70s rock sound. 'Still Standing' has a slow syncopated groove where Grace gets right into the heart of the vocal.

While the album is entrenched in the blues-rock camp, there are moments where they have given themselves more space to expand their sound and experiment with different musical textures. That's the thing about only answering to yourself with no manager to tell you how to do things: you rise or fall on your own choices. 'The folk influenced 'Coming up For Air' focuses on harmonies and uses the squeak of changing chords on the guitar fretboard like percussion, giving the track a very organic feel. ''Tree Of Life' is a rousing track and a departure from their usual wall of sound. There's almost a Gospel feel to the track: All that's missing is the choir at the end. It's a softer song than we are used to, but one that shows that Grace and Aaron are happy to experiment in the safe space they've built for themselves and feel comfortable sharing with their fan base.

The eponymous track has a crashing blues feel and more of those glorious Americana harmonies. It builds to a tsunami of sound and fuses the elements we've heard before, and turns the track into a mission statement for the band's sound and style.

In a world where manufactured music reigns supreme in the pop charts, the album charts have become the go-to place to seek out some of the best music. There's some great music out there from some poker-hot artists who prefer their music made without the help of a few downloaded loops and mushy, indistinct vocal lines: if that sounds like your vibe, When Rivers Meet, may just become your new favourite band.