When I first heard the title of the latest I See Rivers single Collide, several images shot through my mind immediately. Waves crashing on massive rocks along the coastline, an intense fight between a couple, or the collision of flavors when you top a spicy Indian curry with just the right amount of yoghurt dip – yes, quite random I know. Yet, somehow I See Rivers have contained the feeling all these moments leave lingering in your heart in their single. And they take it further by letting their delicate vocal harmonies collide with a cappella-like rhythmic sections of three voices seemingly coming from all around you. They unite, separate, and collide throughout the single.
With this single, the Norwegian three-piece take a step further from their initial floaty folk-tinged compositions and invade a more electrically orientated territory. The exquisite almost sister-like harmonies are enhanced by the subtle beat adding to the intensity of the song. Like fresh sparking water in a cool mountain spring, the vocals blister over the tender synth-lines combining the rawness of organic sounds with the contemporary ring the sweeping synth bears. The video to the single, could not be a better match and conjures their own artistic vision of a collision. The fragility of a flower is contrasted with the torn down walls of a building in ruins, the dancers shift between intense fight-like moves and tender swaying. The themes of ‘Collide’ are of conflict and reconciliation, turbulence and transparency,’ I See Rivers say about the song.
Every Monday we’re updating the 50-track-strong Listen AHEAD Playlist on Spotify, adding ten strong songs by sill relatively unknown artists at the beginning. This week’s new picks also include fresh songs from Barrie, Detalji, Oliver Spalding, Molina, Earlia . Follow the playlist right here on Spotify and give these new talents a chance.