Rivers Edge No Preservation , Hi$e Cold Leaning Life Giants, Idgaf
Rivers Edge
No Preservation
(Bandcamp)
As a music lover, there is no music that is barred from my heart space. There are pieces of every genre that I love and am familiar with.
Typically, punk rock is not my go to genre, despite an extended stint with it in my youth, I have overall moved passed it. There still are some songs, artists, and albums, that I am rather fond of, No Preservation by Rivers Edge, falls into that category.
The band is made up of a group of remarkable musicians that all seem to be in perfect sync with each other. Each instrument and sound compliments each other perfectly, and coinciding with seemingly perfect timing.
The music that they create is reminiscent of old school punk rock music, only it has an awakened, and intelligent sound. They do go hard, and screaming does break out in parts of it, but it is far from a srceamo type album.
The lyrics have great depth to them, and demonstrate knowledge and understanding of life, the troubles with the world, as well as the intricate happenings of the universe as a whole.
The best part about this album is while it does fit into a genre, it does not fit into any particular mold, it truly paves its own way from a musical standpoint. Rivers Edge brings their own sound, by no means do they attempt to sound like any other band, past or present.
While every song is potentially my favorite song on the album, the songs that seem to hit the hardest are “Bastards”, “Waiting to Happen”, “See it Now”, and “Gone to Bolt”; it is one of the best albums to come out of Chattanooga, it screams staying true to ones self, while making incredible music.
No Preservation shows the never ending depth of the local music scene, and is a true hidden gem.
Hi$e Cold
Leaning Life Giants, Idgaf
(Apple, Soundcloud, Spotify)
With the release of his second album in less than a year, Hi$e Cold continues to display that he is much more than just a contender in the Chattanooga music game.
Leaning Life Giants, Idgaf, is a statement album that proves that he is an elite entertainer, with a stance that will continue to broaden well beyond the Tennessee State lines.
Hi$e Cold, is a relentless emcee, that demonstrates an impressive and flexible understanding of life, an extraordinarily clever wit in his rhymes, a deep vocabulary, and a flow delivery that hits like a stone cold under hook.
His ability to switch styles, amongst other performance aspects, makes him a standalone artist that can jump on any beat, and rock in any cypher regardless of operandi.
While showing more of a raw side of his life and thought process than his first album, in Leaning Life Giants, Idgaf, Hi$e Cold, exhibits the fact that he cannot be boxed in as an artist, and that there are many angles to him as an artist. He is the type of artist that can fit in on either side of the train tracks, he has a great understanding of love, light, as well as fervent.
Where it is an album that is excellent from start to finish, some of the stand out tracks on it are “Idgaf (feat. Cjfromspace)”, “Leaning”, “Been Up”, and Woah (feat. Cinematic)”.Hi$e Cold is potentially the hardest working artist in the Chattanooga area. He never stops working to establish his presence as a top emcee. He consistently unleashes new music, albums, music videos, performs at shows, collaborates with other local talent, and pushes to be heard.
If this versatile, fantastic, and interminable has been somehow bypassing your radar, do yourself a favor and start with his previous album Piece of Mind, and then move forward to this album.