It’s a tale of two cities (yes i stole that): Paris and Las Vegas.  Although the Eiffel Tower looms high in both, another commonality now arrives in the form of Rivers of Glass.

Rivers of Glass is Allan J Kimmel, mysterious loner troubadour of the Seine who performs as Departure Street, and Blake Edward Conley, the Kentucky Colonel of the telecaster extraordinaire who performs as droneroom. Both are known for their ability to render the cosmic earthen and the earth feel like the cosmos.

Their debut album is called By the Light of Burning Bridges — the name derived from a largely unknown ceremony in which the inhabitants of a certain Norwegian isle set all bridges afire in order to prohibit entry while they enact what could only be described as a modern day saturalia. It finds Kimmel and Conley exploring the natural crossover of their styles in a fashion reminiscent of the guitar pairings of Loren Connors & Alan Licht, Thalia Zedek & Chris Brokaw, and Chet Atkins & Jerry Reed.

Their playing creates a cinematic latticework of sympathetic notes and sublime textures. At times bright and cheerful, at times dark and dissonant–often within the same composition–this is music for both the city and the desert. Rivers of Glass may set the bridges alight,  but they know that same fire will guide you home.

Hank Savoy, Chulahoma Mississippi 2022

Rivers of Glass: Rivers of Glass is out on CD in digipak and all digital formats.