Derbyshire’s finest hirsute rockers are back with their third album, Fire And Folklore, ready to hit the stores on 2nd October. Keen followers of These Wicked Rivers will have had several opportunities to to get up close with the creative process of the album as ‘Ain’t No Smoke’ appeared in setlists as early as 2024 along with a couple of other new songs. Their annual gathering in Derby in January of the following year then treated those in attendance to 15 new songs penned for the album. By the time recording started only four of those remained and 2026’s gathering recounted some stories of the recording process with Andy Sneap and debuted three more new songs.
Opening track ‘The Healing’ mixes bone crushing riffs over an almost gospel theme about rebirth and soul cleansing. ‘Horse To Water’ will be familiar to those who are already fans of the band. A song about helping someone to deal with addiction, it has been a staple of recent live sets and has also featured as a recent promo video. There’s a hint of The Allman Brothers providing inspiration to this strong Southern Rock offering with the harmony guitars and keyboard interplay. Similarly, ‘Ain’t No Smoke’ has also been around for a while; a song that builds from a simple riff has an epic quality as it ebbs and flows. The breakdown section when it pares down to guitar and keyboards and the bass slowly comes back in is magnificent. Crisp clear and precise sound, the production is world class. It’s little wonder why Andy Sneap is over run with Grammy awards.
‘Sing Another Song’ leans heavily into their country side and touches on the connection between band and audience. Featuring another rising Derby talent, Kezia Gill, adds further twang.
At this point if you’re a vinyl lover, you’d be flipping the album over and the contrast is noticeable. ‘Rise’ begins with a cinematic feel that wouldn’t be out of place in a western soundtrack then hits with a sledgehammer riff and an abundance of positivity. Arran Day’s solo on this will have you reaching for the volume for its transcendental gloriousness. ‘Brother Oh Brother’ seems to be about regret and follows a similar musical theme – another perfect soundtrack to a gritty Netflix series yet to be written.
‘Woodland Queen’ harks back to earlier Rivers themes and no doubt the forest nymph occupies the same somewhat mystical worlds as ‘Floyd’ and ‘The Riverboat Man’. By contrast the album closes with a gentle ‘Stories’ in which John Hartwell opens up about coping with loss and in typical TWR fashion, a sad subject is given a positive spin.
In a year that has seen some exceptional releases from both well established and emerging bands, Fire and Folklore, is up there with the very best. Any fan of British Rock, Blues Rock, Southern Rock, Classic Rock, or even their own self branding of Wizard Rock shouldn’t be without a copy of this. It’s a keeper for the ages.
- Fire And Folklore is released via Fat Earth Music on 2nd October 2026.
Pre-orders with special formats and release week offers are available at https://eyesoremerch.com/bands/t/these-wicked-rivers/
Track List:
- The Healing
- Horse To Water
- Ain’t No Smoke
- Love To Love
- Sing Another Song
- Rise
- Brother Oh Brother
- Better Man
- Woodland Queen
- Stories
