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This is extremely mellow, melancholic Doom that starts out so mellow that I wasn't even sure it was going to qualify for review here. Opener "Fading" is an entirely acoustic song with Jenny Newton's haunting vocals taking center stage. After that the band does get into some heaviness, but I have to say the riffs are a bit lacking, just being used as a way to highlight the melodies and not really driving the songs. There are a lot of quiet, acoustic moments here—too many, I think, as they are not that good. When the band is sweeping along and Newton is doing her thing, this weaves a good, doomy spell, almost reminding me of Skumring in places. That said, the songwriting is pretty flat, and the songs don't really build, they just kind of go on until they stop. The River have a definite aesthetic and atmosphere, but they don't manage to make it really sing.