The Return Of The Rivers

SOLD OUT 'There are a lot of releases by Irish collective United Bible Studies, and a lot of stylistic ground covered in their two-decade run to date. A lot of it might reasonably be described as 'free folk', which can mean a lot of things – rarely, though, will it sound as lush and plangent as the two sidelong pieces on this cassette released by Cruel Nature. Violin, piano and sax combine for 40 minutes of ambient/jazz/drone minimalism.' The Quietus, Noel Gardner 'David Colohan is a favourite of ours here at Sun 13, and having recently released his latest solo album, A Map Where the Leaves Fall First (also on CN), he returns alongside Dom Cooper (voice, piano), Matt Leivers (soprano saxophone) and Gayle Brogan (violin) as United Bible Studies with The Return of the Rivers. With United Bible Studies, Colohan gets closer to the core of drone, and on The Return of the Rivers we are met with two compositions that mix elements of jazz and fractured folk into something protracted and forlorn. Brimming with locality that pays homage to wide open spaces, The Return of the Rivers is pastoral folk-drone as its finest, and yet another fine release from one of Ireland’s great underground purveyors of experimentation.' SUN 13