* En anglais uniquement
The nom de plume of American singer/songwriter
Nathan Amundson,
Rivulets employs a compelling blend of folk, slowcore, and minimalist indie rock that evokes the brooding love songs of
Mark Kozelek's
Red House Painters and the acute, windswept soundscapes of Iceland's
Sigur Rós.
Amundson began recording as
Rivulets in 1999, when his self-titled debut was issued by Chairkickers' Union, the Duluth, Minnesota label run by the veteran indie rock outfit
Low. Often driven only by voice or quiet guitar,
Rivulets is gentle yet genuinely powerful. Most often, the music suggests the isolation and odd beauty found at the center of an iced-over lake in the middle of winter.
Rivulets' spare sound was also augmented at times by various musicians, including
Low principals
Alan Sparhawk and
Mimi Parker, among others. Between 1999 and 2004,
Rivulets issued a series of albums and EPs, and contributed to numerous compilations. Two full-length albums appeared through Chairkickers' Union, 2002's self-titled effort, and
Debridement a year later. The
You've Got Your Own EP arrived in 2004 with the full-length You Are My Home following in 2006 on Important Records. The
Stray Songs 2000-2010 collection was a digital download that appeared in 2010, while 2011 saw the arrival of both the
Yearlings EP (self-released) and the album
We're Fucked (Important Records). The prolific
Amundson spent the next few years continuing to bounce around from label to label, issuing 2014's
I Remember Everything through Jellyfant Records and 2018's
In Our Circle via Talitres Records. ~ Johnny Loftus