Album by River Shook
At first, I needed to listen to River Shook, but then after I did, I realized, I needed River Shook.
Let me explain.
As I was listening to Revelations, the 2024 album by Sarah Shook & the Disarmers, as part of my goal to listen to every album from 2024, I started reading about River Shook’s new chapter as a solo artist. The Disarmers had been disbanded, River Shook was now making music under their own name, and suddenly this album I was listening to as a revisit felt like part of a much bigger story.
I knew I couldn’t just listen to Revelations as an album from 2024, write about it, and leave it there. I needed to hear what came next.
That’s how I ended up listening to Shook’s new self-titled album.
And I am glad I did. River Shook is a phenomenal record.
When I wrote up my review for Revelations, I was already starting to believe that River might be one of the great contemporary American songwriters.
This album proved it.
“Free at Last” immediately puts River Shook’s voice right in the spot I love. There’s just a touch of country in it, but more than anything, their voice is mournful and emotive. The best singers, to me, are the ones who can make me want what they want. That’s what River Shook does here. There’s a real sense of yearning in the song as they try to get past someone and finally get free of the feelings that are keeping them stuck. The music matches that mood, giving the song a sadness without making it feel hopeless.
There’s a little more pop in “Country Angel,” and I really like the way Shook blends it with the country. It’s catchy and infectious. Blake Tallent’s drum fills kept jumping out at me, and felt like the center of the song. This one feels more like River is singing about a type — the kind of person they find themselves completely infatuated with, even when they probably know where it’s going to end.
“Lost Without Your Love” may be the gentlest vocal I’ve heard from River Shook yet. The music leans more into country, and everything about the performance has this easy, relaxed quality to it. The lyrics take this almost outlaw-romance approach to losing someone.
There’s something almost coiled about “Venom & Gold.” It has a slow-burn country quality to it, with River’s vocals and the music drawn out and deliberate. The song comes across like a cornered animal getting ready to defend itself. On the surface, it sounds like it’s directed at someone who is two-faced. I can’t help hearing something a little more subversive and political in it. Lines in the song had me thinking of empty promises from politicians.
With “Fading,” the music almost sounds triumphant. It has this restrained country feel, sitting just below the kind of tempo that would turn it into a pop song, even though the story underneath it is anything but simple. The song plays like it’s about finally freeing yourself from someone else completely, in every sense.
“Blue Vervain” is a gorgeous alt-country love song. The verses move slowly before the song opens up with the chorus. Shook’s vocal is what really gets me, though. There’s so much emotion in it, and they sound completely swept up in this love they’ve found. I also like the way they use nature and the world around them to express what this love feels like. It’s a beautiful song, and a beautiful expression of being completely in love.
A little Tom Petty creeps into “If We Get a Chance,” mixing pop rock, classic rock and a touch of country. River’s vocals have a more indie-pop feel here, and the chorus is really cool and catchy. It’s a pretty straightforward song about what being on the road can do to a relationship.
“Beater Car” is surprisingly powerful. Country, alt-country and rock all come together around this great melody and rhythm, and there’s a guitar solo toward the end that sent an electric shock through my entire body. Underneath all of that is the cost that chasing a dream as an independent artist can have on family, relationships and your wallet. There is real guilt here and it gives this song a ton of weight.
“Running to Georgia” is a very cool moment on the album. The slide guitar adds this great color to the song, and the whole thing settles into a slower indie alt-country groove. Shook’s vocal here might be my favorite on the album. It’s so restrained, but you can feel everything underneath it. It’s just perfect.
The song starts with the feeling of trying to escape from everything that has gone wrong, but there’s something beautiful about where that escape leads. In trying to get away, River ends up finding something new and meaningful.
The album closes with “Loving Me Is Like Rolling a Big Old Rock,” a twangy country finale with a little folkiness to it and a gentle gallop underneath. It has two sides to it. There’s the pain of what happens when the people who are supposed to offer unconditional love don’t, but there’s also something really sweet about Shook celebrating the feeling of finally finding that kind of love. There’s something about the way they sing this one that brought a tear to my eye.
It feels like the right way to end this album. River Shook doesn’t shy away from what came before, but they’re also able to appreciate where they are now and look toward what might comes next. There’s something about the worn, authentic quality of the music that makes that hope feel earned. This long, crooked path led them here, and they don’t take that for granted.
River Shook writes songs that feel very personal and intimate. They expose the vulnerable parts — the mistakes, the bad decisions, the loneliness, the desire to find something better. They can move between several versions of country, alt-country, pop and rock without losing that feeling that we’re hearing something real.
The magic is how easily you can see yourself in songs this vulnerable. The specific experiences may be different, but the feelings are familiar. Mistakes. Regrets. Hopes. We all feel guilty. We all feel lost. We all want love.
That connection is what makes these songs feel bigger than just the stories they’re telling.
And if you can tell me something that belongs entirely to you and somehow make me feel like you’re telling me something about myself, well, to me, that is the mark of a great songwriter.
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