Brendan Perkins – Trading River Songs

Why This Is One River Well Worth Following

With an album called Trading River Songs, you might initially suspect that Brendan Perkins has finally decided Britain’s waterways have been crying out for a proper progressive rock soundtrack. Fortunately, there’s rather more to it than that.

Rivers certainly play a central role throughout this album, but not merely as scenery. They become storytellers. They carry memories, connect places and accompany people through the different chapters of their lives. It’s a wonderfully refreshing concept and, if we’re being honest, a welcome change from the usual concept albums about time travel, alien civilisations or the end of the world on a perfectly ordinary Tuesday.

Brendan Perkins belongs to that pleasantly rare breed of musicians who never seem interested in constantly proving just how virtuosic they are. Which is rather admirable, considering he has every reason to. The British multi-instrumentalist brings decades of experience as a composer, performer and recording engineer, and on Trading River Songs he plays, sings, records, produces, mixes and masters virtually everything himself. The only guest appearance comes courtesy of Helen Flunder, who provides backing vocals on Binbrook Skyline.

The impressive part, however, isn’t that he does almost everything himself. Progressive rock has never exactly suffered from a shortage of multi-instrumentalists, Mellotrons or time signatures that require drummers to keep a supply of headache tablets close at hand.

The impressive part is how effortlessly it all comes together.

Nothing feels overcrowded. Nothing shouts for attention. Instead, the album possesses a calm confidence that feels surprisingly rare these days. Perkins allows his compositions the space to breathe, and that’s precisely where their emotional strength lies.

Opening track Rest at the Shoreline immediately sets the tone, comparing life to a river gently carrying childhood dreams towards the sea. Banks of the Fleet recalls London’s long-lost River Fleet, before the title track tells a moving story of betrayal, family and rediscovering one’s roots. Binbrook Skyline lovingly reflects on a lifetime of memories in the Lincolnshire Wolds, while Angels in a Vacuum unexpectedly takes aim at the abuse of power. Finally, Goddess Earth brings the journey to a beautifully warm conclusion with its heartfelt tribute to our remarkable blue planet.

Musically, Brendan Perkins inhabits a world that fans of classic British progressive rock will immediately recognise. Symphonic arrangements blend effortlessly with pastoral textures, acoustic instrumentation and that unmistakably British sense of melancholy which never quite slips into sentimentality.

If echoes of Genesis, Big Big Train or Mike Oldfield occasionally drift through your thoughts, you certainly wouldn’t be alone. Yet Trading River Songs possesses more than enough personality to avoid ever sounding like a respectful imitation of its influences.

Perhaps that’s the album’s greatest achievement.

It doesn’t aspire to be the most technically complex progressive rock release of the year. It has little interest in dazzling listeners with displays of musical athleticism or instrumental gymnastics. Brendan Perkins simply tells stories.

Honest stories.

And sometimes, that’s entirely enough.

At a time when almost everything seems determined to become louder, faster and bigger, Trading River Songs feels wonderfully unhurried. It takes its time. Then politely invites the listener to do exactly the same.

After all, it isn’t always the fastest rivers that leave the deepest impression.

Sometimes, all you need is a quiet one.