'Time Rolls On' from 'eight in the evening in spring' EP

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"This masterpiece "Time Rolls On" is one of the best songs we've ever heard.  The atmosphere is unique and the production is creative, smart and brought this track to a whole new level.  The singing voice is a piece of art and the melodies are incredibly catchy.  This band is professional and there is an amazing level of songwriting that shines up through their music.  We enjoyed listening to this song until the last and we hope you love it as much as we do."

Cheers To The Vikings

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"A sort of homecoming for those who feel left out by life and the speed of living...with fine observed lyrics and a passionate delivery that comes from a soul that was made for connecting with those outside its inner circle"

MP3Hugger

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"The way the track rises from its atmospheric drift into something impassioned and searching is just fantastic"

Various Small Flames

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'About Hope' EP

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"one of the most visual songs we’ve ever listened to" Where the music meets.

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"tranquil and blissful acoustic led serenade" Mystic Sons

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"groove-filled acoustic-led jam" Mystic Sons

 

"unbelievably emotional" Bleistiftrocker.de

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2020 live review

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"There was a buzz in the atmosphere at Shepton's Art Bank for Rivers Of England last night. This was new music from a band I hadn't come across before, but the suggestion was they would be something special.
All seats taken by an audience prepared to listen.  The music is melodic and lush carried across a high level of musicianship from this very capable ensemble.  A charismatic lead singer, in his manner like Jim Morrison and with a strong vocal that reminded me of a young Peter Gabriel.
There is nothing better than witnessing new music that hits the spot in a great venue, in Shepton Mallet!"  Claire Sully.

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Earlier reviews

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"Wholesome and finely crafted loveliness".  BBC Introducing.

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"...a mixture of jazz, (prog) rock and blues. And, again, one can make associations with fellow songwriters Nick Drake and John Martyn."

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...it has to be listened to so that the soothing depths may be appreciated and earned.

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There is a unity that enables [Rivers] to achieve something few bands are able to, namely to create a cohesive thread that is uniquely independent and avoids a singular sound.

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The outstanding, harmonious mixture of different elements is based on folk rock in the British tradition from the sixties and seventies and the peculiarity of the sound makes this band an important new addition to the current British scene within the genre."  Wolfgang Giese  http://www.musikansich.de/review.php?id=17471 (translated from German by Brian Madigan).

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"Rivers Of England are a self-styled folk-rock band based around songwriter and 'bastard son of Sting and Chris Martin', Rob Spalding.

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...innovative and original."

Ian Taylor,  R2 Rock n Reel magazine.

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"Immersive, simple but impressive music that is somehow quintessentially English, there is something quite wholesome, refined and altogether rather sweet about this music and the vocals are completely lovely.  Rare but nice to find something reminiscent of Yo La Tengo and Nick Drake all at once."  Glastonbury Emerging Talent 2013 top 1.5% (longlist) review by Don't Watch Me Dancing http://www.glastonburyfestivals.co.uk/news/2013-emerging-talent-competition-longlist-announced

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"Rivers Of England are a philosophical scientific folk-rock band led by songwriter Rob Spalding.....show me another song that can include the line “1.98 x 1020Newtons” and have it make sense...Rivers Of England are a tight band, mostly acoustic and laden with strings arranged by Danyal Dhondy....a fine album but listen carefully and don’t try to rush it."

​Dai Jeffries, Folking.com  

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http://folking.com/rivers-of-england-astrophysics-saved-my-life-folkwit-records-f0132/

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"...Underneath The Moon" a tale of a parting pair and the realisation it's possibly for the best. The track is gorgeously orchestrated with strings courtesy of Danyal Dhondy.

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Indeed the music here is first class and varied, folk augmented with a tad of Blues, a smidgen of Jazz, a whiff of prog rock. It deserves a wide audience.

Ian Cripps, Fatea Records Magazine (http://www.fatea-records.co.uk/magazine/2016/RiversOfEngland.html

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"Rivers of England is a band that softly combines the elements of folk and rock, but the mix also includes components of jazz, blues and psychedelia, with more than a touch of experimentation throughout. To understand you really have to listen.....More than simple folk-rock and far more complex than pop, deeper in expression, wider in scope, this album looks outward as much as it looks inward." Charlie Elland, FolkWords.

 

'‘Of Trivial and Gargantuan’ is a strong and accomplished debut that gently drifts its unhurried way into the psyche, and its tender, sweet sounds seem to have arrived perfectly timed for the summer festival season.' www.americana-UK.com

 

"There is so much inventiveness and freshness in this music..."  German online magazine “Rock Times” (http://www.rocktimes.de/gesamt/r/rivers_of_england/of_trivial_and_gargantuan.html)
 

"Thoughtful but never painful, "Of Trivial And Gargantuan" is full of beautiful compositions: the folk-blues in two voices just tinged jazz of "To Feel Alive" line leaves a strong and clear in the footsteps of John Martyn, and "Bailbrook Lane "rereads years of the history of British pop for the more cultured passing of Peter Gabriel's" Solsbury Hill ", the Xtc of" Mummer "and David Gray, weaves between electroacoustic and memorable riffs that imprint in the mind the pleasant refrain." Ondarock (Italy) http://www.ondarock.it/recensioni/2014_riversofengland_oftrivialandgargantuan.htm

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'A beautiful album that nourishes the soul through pure musicality and sublimely sensitive songwriting. A gargantuan triumph.' Chris Vaudin. 

'Very sweet...I like that a lot, a really lovely track.' (BBC Introducing, about Bailbrook Lane).

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'...the stunning Meadow Sways is a piece that sounds like a lost timeless classic. It is so well poised in its writing, performance, arrangement, texture and blend that it is almost beyond criticism – its just a well made lovely thing.' Davey Ray Moor (formerly of Cousteau). 

'Rob Spalding is a highly talented singer songwriter. Armed with an awe-inspiring voice capable of sending shivers down your spine.' Sam Rowe (sound engineer, producer, Festival Stage manager).

'He has a great voice!' Innes Sibun.