Review
The River Bends
And Flows into the Sea

Tooth & Nail (2004) Carver

The River Bends – And Flows into the Sea cover artwork
The River Bends – And Flows into the Sea — Tooth & Nail, 2004

Denison Witmer-say the name with me- Den-i-son Wit-mer. We are doing this exercise for two reasons, because a) his name is kinda hard to pronounce and b) I don't want you to forget it. Now I suppose you want to know who this guy is and what does he have to do with The River Bends? Well, please allow me to entertain your curiosity (isn't this fun!?!?).

Denison Witmer is a singer-songwriter from Philadelphia, who has released several unbelievably good records with the label Burnt Toast Vinyl. After extensive touring he returned home and developed concepts for two albums rating high on the unique-o-meter. The first of these is an album composed soley of cover songs that pay tribute to handful of heroes. In any other case I would place all songs written by Jackson Browne or Neil Young in the "untouchable" file within the cover song warehouse, but on Recovered, Witmer flawlessly produces interpretations that could make the original songwriters weep, with joy of course.

Witmer's second brainchild is what I am presenting you with today: a side project called The River Bends. On this record Witmer has teamed up with a group of "friends," as indicated on the CD case, to take Witmer's songwriting excellence and back it with a full band. When I say full band I really mean an additional acoustic guitar, some percussion, and maybe a little piano action. We're not talking turntables, xylophones or anything that outrageous. So in other words, the sound is similar to his solo records but maybe a bit more upbeat.

Trying to chose a favorite track of And Flows into the Sea is like trying to chose a favorite flavor of Pez candy, its impossible because they are all equally delicious. Okay, maybe not the best metaphor, but hopefully you get my point: there are a bunch of good tracks on the record. A stand outs are "Looking for You", and "I Love you April" where Witmer states that "Today I feel like a part of something bigger than myself/ a raindrop in the sea/ a book between books on the shelf". The entire album is painted with beautiful artistic imagery and will send singer-songwriter enthusiasts into a state of bliss.

Hopefully by this point some of your questions about The River Bends have been answered, and if they haven't I would encourage you to pick up the album because I really believe that it speaks for itself.

9.0 / 10Carver • June 21, 2004

The River Bends – And Flows into the Sea cover artwork
The River Bends – And Flows into the Sea — Tooth & Nail, 2004

Advertisement

DCxPC 2025

Recently-posted album reviews

Detention

Dead Rock ‘N’ Rollers
Left For Dead Records (2024)

Life ain’t so easy in the detention home- Dead Boys. Emerging from the underbelly of Jersey, made up primarily of three brethren. Raised on rock and roll and sipping from the chalice of early punk rock stalwarts like Da Bruddahs from Queens, Hey Ho! and the Pistoleros of Sexual Nature screaming banshees from across from the large pond. Thus forging … Read more

Nightfreak

Nightfreak
Big Neck Records (2024)

Semi-feral punk outfit NightFreak are back with a self-titled LP filled with breakneck riffs and 70s metal bombast. The Chicago group haven’t slowed down since 2022’s Speed Trials but they have filled out. NightFreak the album is lousy with warm back beats and melodic guitars; although, hardcore vocals and tight drums still reign supreme. Album opener “Blackout” is dead serious … Read more

Death By Unga Bunga

Raw Muscle Power
Jansen Records (2025)

I’m pretty sure I became aware of Mike Krol when The Whiffs posted about playing some shows with him. Krol is a bit of an anomaly. Not only is he on Merge and collaborates with Mac Superchunk- a dream scenario imo- but he’s also been elusive of my fan boy attempts at cold dm’ing him about stuff even tho we … Read more