Filmmaker seeks donors to help produce two Rivulets music videos

Just like Nathan Amundson’s music, this post doesn’t require many words to get its point across. For many years, he’s recorded and performed music under the name Rivulets; likewise, for many years filmmaker Adam Barnick has dreamed of adding his visual touch to Amundson’s songs. It’s a long and expensive process, and Barnick now hopes fans can help make his dream a reality.

Visit the Indiegogo campaign page to learn more about this effort, and see what rewards are offered for donating. The campaign needs to raise $6,350 by July 30.

Rivulets strips down for soft simplicity with 4-track EP

Last year, Nathan Amundson released Yearlings, a limited edition Rivulets tour EP of 4-track recorded home demos. These six raw songs are now available for sale digitally at Bandcamp.

As each song starts and stops, you can hear the smooth fuzz of the tape. The rudimentary technology affords Amundson’s music a deeper vulnerability that easily complements his style and feels as though you’re leafing through the worn pages of a diary. Through the simplicity in production, the bare poetry of Rivulets’ sound and lyrics is able to thrive.

Yearlings begins with “No Rest,” featuring vocals only, to put Amundson’s trembling voice on stark display. An acoustic guitar joins his singing for the remainder of the EP, acting more as a foundation for his words than the instrument that carries the music. Ragged strings introduce each song before Amundson comes in to sing lovelorn atop it. His lyrics are the focal point, and reach their loveliest on the album’s longest track, “Bordeaux”: “You’re so beautiful, it breaks my fucking heart,” he laments in the voice of a man who’s been left to chill on ice, lips blue and blood thickened. The EP is a succinct reminder that Amundson writes music requiring little interpretation, cut-and-dried for easy consumption and forgoing ambiguity for direct candor.

Just a few albums to get stoked for in 2012

As we embark upon a new year (the last year ever, as some may say!), we already have some anticipation of what’s ahead. Maybe we’ve already planned some vacations, and bought tickets to concerts and events that are coming up. One thing I always have in my mind is which of my favorite bands have announced they’ll be releasing a new album, or new bands who will be releasing debuts (which are sometimes the most exciting). Without further ado, here’s a small list of stuff that’s caught in my radar.

Dillon Warnek – A Stranger Here, Jan. 1 (that’s today, homies! Expect a review this week.)

Rivulets – Yearlings (digital EP), Jan. 3

Lost Lander – DRRT, Jan. 24

Nada Surf – The Stars Are Indifferent To Astronomy, Jan. 24

Lightning Love – Girls Who Look Like Me (EP), Jan. 31; full-length in the spring

Harriet – Tell the Right Story (EP), Jan. 31

Sleigh Bells – Reign of Terror, Jan. 31

Rivulets’ new album is the perfect accompaniment to a rainy day

I awoke this morning to the sounds of cars rolling across rain-soaked pavement. It’s that time of year, when I can actually go outside without squinting because the light is muted by precipitation. Even winter is sometimes too bright for my eyes, but fall was made for the fair-featured lot.

In anticipation of such a morning, I’ve been falling asleep each night with the gloomy sound of Rivulets’ “We’re Fucked” in my ears.

Nathan Amundson’s latest album is more ambiance than music. It conjures images, feelings and memories rather than engaging the ears, meaning it’s aiming for something deeper and hitting the target.

Many tracks on the album are serene throughout, relying mostly on Amundson’s wicker voice and gravelly guitar. However, the songs that make the best earmarks are those slow-burners that open soft and built into a torrent. “Everybody’s on the Run” is one of the most musical examples, beginning its climb in volume early on until the drums begin to pummel and crash in a noise cyclone at the hilt.

The effect is also strong on “No Talking,” one of the album’s most standout offerings. But just like an autumn rain, “We’re Fucked” isn’t all hard-driving and brash. When it’s not drenching you in sound, it’s soothing and gentle as the gray clouds that loom overhead. For proper enjoyment of this album, put on a pot of tea, sit back and watch out the window as the world decays.