We immediately fell for Oakland based quintet Waterstrider when they came under our radar a couple of weeks ago. We already knew their debut album was in the works, and the great news is they’ve shared the first single off it, ‘Redwood’. As Waterstrider put it, ‘Redwood’ “is an encapsulation of what’s to come: big guitars and an even bigger rhythm section thunder along, providing the perfect foil for singer Nate Salman’s elegant, lilting falsetto”. We love it and if this first single is any inclination of what’s to come, we are in for a treat. Here’s ‘Redwood’.

Nate Salman, Drew Brown, Scott Brown, Brijean Murphy and Walker Johnson make up Oakland based outfit Waterstrider. Our first taste of their music comes in the shape of an incredible cover of ‘Twice’, the very excellent and sensual track by Little Dragon. Waterstrider used two field recordings from a farm in Ithaca, New York to mark an astounding change halfway through the song, as if the night turned into day. “As the sun comes up, and with it the diurnal fauna, we chant a mantra that affirms our individuality on this planet”, explained the band. “We are in control of our own fate, defined only by our own dreams and intentions.”.

Allured by this cover, I directed my ears to Waterstrider’s bandcamp. Their two EP’s released to date, Wind​-​Fed Fire and Constellation, amalgamate an array of genres and influences from all over the place into a distinctly original and infectious sound. Waterstrider are gearing up to release their debut full-length album later this year and we’ll keep our ears peeled for more updates.
Now listen to their cover of ‘Twice’ and straight after listen to a couple of cuts we’ve picked from both EP’s, ‘Edge of the Light (Live)’ and ‘Constellation’.