Review by Adam M on September 1, 2023.

Riverside’s ID.Entity is a nice change of pace for the band and signals them coming to some more subtle terms.  The music here is delicate progressive music that has a moody edge to make it more atmospheric.  It has a degree of intricate riffing, but is streamlined to a great extent.  The band has been progressing to this culmination of work because I believe they have hit the nail on the head here.  They have stripped their sound down and now perform a relatively easy listening to style, but do not sacrifice the complexity.  This is thus one of the better albums of the year thus far.

 The musical performances are all solid.  The guitars are intelligent and playful and make for a good base to stick the performances around.  The drumming is solid and forms the backdrop for the music.  The vocals are diverse and well-performed and always a high point on the disc.  All in all the band are very tight at this point in their careers and put their best foot forward.  I look forward to what they are able to pull off in the future, although at this point, they are certainly a well-wrought unit.

 If there is an issue with the disc, it’s in how the band plays it too safe at times and does not try anything particularly unusual.  This is both a good and bad thing and leads the album to being fairly standard sounding.  It is still an ethereal and heart-warming piece of music that should be enjoyed by all.  Those into Riverside previously will love them at this stage of the game and their development.  They are interesting and full of new ideas to bring to the forefront and this album finds them firing on all cylinders.  It will be interesting to see where they progress in the future, but this is a good step for the band in their evolution.

Rating: 7.4 out of 10