WILD RIVERS FOLLOW NEVER BETTER WITHNEW COMPANION ALBUM BETTER NOW ONOCTOBER 18

September 6, 2024 BY Bailey Vigliaturo

Just three months after the release of their acclaimed album, Never Better, Platinum-selling trio Wild RiversKhalid Yassein, Devan Glover and Andrew Oliver—will return with a new companion album, Better Now, October 18 via Nettwerk Music Group (pre-order/pre-save here). Ahead of the release, new track, “What Kind of Song,” is debuting today. Listen/share HERE.

Of the song, the band shares, “The idea of the song is this meta question: ‘when you sing this song in a few years, is it going to be a love song or a breakup song? Will you be missing them and the relationship you once had, or missing them when you’re still together but they aren’t home from work yet?’ There’s two ways that it goes that are completely different.”

Produced by Wild Rivers and Gabe Wax (Soccer Mommy, Adrienne Lenker), Better Now consists of eight tracks that complement Never Better, as the group dives deeper into the complicated, confusing and unknown realities of life in their twenties, and the personal growth they’ve found through it all.

Of the new project, Wild Rivers shares, “Better Now is our companion record, and the other side to Never Better. On the first record, the songs contain raw, absolute and instinctual feelings. In many ways, Better Now is the afterglow of this. We’re reflecting and understanding that relationships change over time. Complicated situations can be just that, complicated. Feelings can remain unresolved. If the first record is bright and bold, this one is the softer gradients in between; the sunrises and the sunsets. Both projects make up the full spectrum of who we are. Better Now is just the moodier, misunderstood one. Musically the records really are twins. We wrote all of the songs at the same time. Finishing Better Now, we really felt that it was the close of a massive musical and personal chapter. It’s bittersweet but so meaningful to be able to chronicle our lives between these projects. Ultimately, we are optimistic; ‘better now,’ after the ups and downs of the relationships and turbulence of our twenties. Hopefully we’re wiser for it.”

Since its release this past July, Never Better has continued to receive widespread attention from fans and critics alike, with the Associated Press praising, “poignant lyrics and elegant harmonies…it would be hard to find a band with more complementary voices working on each other’s behalf.” Additionally, Consequence declares, “This trio knocked it out of the park with their new album…inventive melodies, rich harmonies, and lush instrumentals abound” and Rolling Stone Germany proclaimed “The core of the band—a celestial and open-hearted romance—remains intact. A standout track is ‘Everywhere I Go,’ with its groovy, earthy sound and irresistibly catchy refrain, perfectly capturing the essence of the band.”

In celebration of the new music, Wild Rivers will perform on “CBS Saturday Morning” tomorrow, September 7 as part of their “Saturday Sessions” series and will continue to tour through this fall with their international headline tour. Upcoming stops include Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium, Los Angeles’ Fonda Theater (sold out), Boston’s Paradise Rock Club (sold out), Austin’s Scoot Inn (sold out), Chicago’s Vic Theater (sold out), Denver’s Ogden Theater (sold out), Seattle’s The Showbox and San Francisco’s Regency Ballroom among many others. See below for complete tour itinerary. Full details can be found at www.wildriversmusic.com/tour.

WILD RIVERS CONFIRMED TOUR DATES
September 7—Boston, MA—Paradise Rock Club* (SOLD OUT)
September 9—Washington, D.C.—Lincoln Theater* (SOLD OUT)
September 10—Charlotte, NC—The Underground* (SOLD OUT)
September 11—Nashville, TN—Ryman Auditorium*
September 15—Dallas, TX—The Studio at The Factory*
September 16—Austin, TX—Scoot Inn* (SOLD OUT)
September 17—Houston, TX—Heights Theater*
September 19—Atlanta, GA—Variety Playhouse* (SOLD OUT)
September 21—Louisville, KY—Bourbon & Beyond
September 22—Chicago, IL—Vic Theater+ (SOLD OUT)
September 23—Minneapolis, MN—First Avenue+
September 25—Milwaukee, WI—Turner Hall Ballroom+
September 26—St. Louis, MO—Delmar Hall+
September 28—Kansas City, MO—The Truman+
September 30—Denver, CO—Ogden Theater+ (SOLD OUT)
October 1—Boulder, CO—Boulder Theater+
October 2—Salt Lake City, UT—The Complex+
October 4—Portland, OR—Revolution Hall+ (SOLD OUT)
October 6—Seattle, WA—The Showbox+
October 7—Vancouver, BC—The Orpheum+
October 9—San Francisco, CA—Regency Ballroom+
October 11—Los Angeles, CA—The Fonda Theater+ (SOLD OUT)
October 12—San Diego, CA—The Observatory North+ (SOLD OUT)
November 2—Groningen, Netherlands—Take Root
November 4—Berlin, Germany—Hole44#
November 6—Cologne, Germany—Die Kantine#
November 8—Zurich, Switzerland—Plaza#
November 10—Paris, France—La Maroquinerie#
November 13—Glasgow, Scotland—QMU#
November 15—Dublin, Ireland—Button Factory# (SOLD OUT)
November 17—Bristol, U.K.—SWX#
November 19—London, U.K.—O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire#
November 22—Manchester, U.K.—Manchester Academy#
November 24—Birmingham, U.K.—O2 Institute#
November 26—Leeds, U.K.—Project House#
November 27—Cardiff, U.K.—Tramshed#
December 6—Toronto, ON—History (SOLD OUT)

*with special guest Jade Bird
+with special guest Lily Meola

#with special guest Riley Pearce