ID.ENTITY

One of the most eagerly awaited premieres of 2023. Entitled ID.Entity... and whose title is a kind of play on words between entity and identity or the identification of a person... a way of reflecting on the alignment, control or domination that large corporations exercise over people or over the planet.

But apart from this subject matter, which is all very well but doesn't say anything new either, what matters is the music. The music both as a reflection of this theme and in an absolute way.

And in this aspect, it is worth noting that Riverside has not rested on its laurels. And as usual, they have once again given another twist to their musical style.

And how do they surprise us on this latest album? Well, the formula is very varied and for me very successful. They start with the audacity of introducing sounds inspired by 80's music, in fact, the first track of the album and first single, sounds close to A-ha: dynamic rhythms, fresh harmonies and melodies with a pop and new wave touch... But it doesn't stop here, far from it: the 80's references are just another resource that they use in a controlled and punctual way to varnish some of the tracks. Tracks that are in constant movement and change and in which we find hard and heavy moments, a fondness for their metal background, more basic rock zones and zones of static atmospheres and contained rhythms with a great profusion and dominance of keyboards.

Of course, we also find very progressive areas: wide and epic developments, with great rhythmic and dynamic contrasts and sometimes emotional and sometimes very descriptive, almost narrative voices that remind me of the way people like Andy Tillison from The Tangent approach their developments. Or other combinations that remind me so much of proposals that could perfectly be signed by King Crimson, Pink Floyd or Porcupine Tree.

But all these references are simply impressions, as all the music contained in this album seems to me to be highly personal and original. In the end, the references only serve to frame or give form and what matters is that the proposal knows how to integrate those references while contributing new things... And in this ID.Entity there are good doses of that.

An album that, although it must necessarily be classified as progressive rock, it is really only nominally so, as for me it stands out above all for its open-mindedness to integrate multiple references from arena rock, through new wave, metal or atmospheric music.

And of course all excellently performed. The instrumental contributions are very good: amazing bass lines, the keyboards are very dynamic and provide a rich timbre, and the guitar solos are very intense.

A very complete album. An album that I think people with different musical sensibilities will like, and that since the beginning of this 2023 is positioned as a firm candidate to be among the most outstanding of the year.