Even with a full band to accompany him,
Denison Witmer retains an intimate atmosphere. That may be because he wrote all but one song on
And Flows into the Sea, making this more like another solo effort than a true collaboration. Nonetheless, friends and producers add guitars, keyboards, percussion, and vocals, fleshing out
Witmer's journal-like portraits of life. Much of his lyrical content focuses on the expected former relationship ("Are You Lonely?" is undeniably a letter to his missed loved one), but he's also undecided ("Hold me in, let me go/I don't know which way to turn," he sings in "Chestnut Street"). Aside from those personal moments,
Witmer does what he set out to do: writing songs that can be openly interpreted. The best example comes with the closing "You Could Be Anything," which leaves listeners with a positive message and a full-band effort, pointing to the next possible direction for
Witmer, and possibly
The River Bends. ~ Kenyon Hopkin