We’ve got an awesome album review from progressive rock website DPRP.
Here’s a brief intro of the review:
The rather oddly named Downriver Dead Men Go are a “cinematic post-rock band” hailing from Leiden in the Netherlands. The quintet of Gerrit Koekebakker (vocals, guitar), Michel Varkevisser (guitar, backing vocals), Peter van Dijk (keyboards), Menno Kolk (bass guitar), and Marcel Heijnen (drums) have released two previous albums, Tides (2015) and Departures (2018). Ruins, having slipped past the DPRP radar when it was released towards the end of 2022, also features guest keyboard player Remco Den Hollander and promises the band adopting, in places, a rather heavier approach than on their previous albums.
The group eschews the instrumental approach favoured by the majority of post-rock groups but this in no way hampers the dynamism and shifting musical crescendos and lulls associated with the genre, particularly as Koekebakker is an expressively fine vocalist. This is evident on the crushing opener of a title track that over a glorious ten minutes sets out the expansive parameters of the album. Guitars are very much to the fore and although the keyboards can be heard they play a more subservient role fleshing out the musical horizons. It is then straight into the more restrained Secret, the seamless transition between tracks working very well blending the two pieces together in a wonderfully smooth manner. The very realistic cello sound achieved on the latter stages of the song adds delightful light orchestral flair to an altogether rather lovely song.
Want to read the full review? go to DPRP.net.