Album Review: Riverside - Live ID

Riverside Live ID

There are few bands who wear the progressive badge with more passion and pride than Riverside. Formed in 2001, the Polish outfit is without doubt a must-see band when they pass anywhere near me.

Live ID captures them in their full majesty at COS Torwar in Warsaw on June 1st, 2024, on the tour to promote the 2023 album I.D. Entity. I was fortunate enough to see the band in Bristol mere days before this recording and it resonates deeply. If you caught the band on this tour, then you’ll be aware that they were in great spirits. 

Riverside

The cloud that had shrouded their movements for the past few years since the passing of Piotr Grudziński in 2016 Has lifted, the band has moved forward, and with the release of I.D. Entity, Riverside released a career defining album. Listening to this live release takes me right back to SWX on that May night, although this is obviously recorded in their homeland. It’s a definitive recording of a band in their prime. 

Up front is the lynchpin of the band, Mariusz Duda, the enigmatic bass player and vocalist whose performance on this live show, and indeed at the Bristol show, was imperious. He’s accompanied by the beautiful guitar work of Maciej Meller, whose membership of the band had been confirmed several months earlier. Completing the line up, the sumptuous keys of Michal Lapaj and anchoring the whole event, drummer Piotr Kozieradzki.


Live ID not only captures Riverside in their best form for almost a decade but provides a spread of songs from their extensive catalogue. Unsurprisingly, it’s songs from I.D. Entity that forms the bulk of the setlist, with the likes of Big Tech Brother, Friend or Foe and Landmine Blast all brilliantly delivered. There are a couple of trips back to 2013 and Love Fear and the Time Machine, with the throbbing pulse of Addicted which kicks the whole evening off as well as Lost (Why Should I Be Frightened of a Hat). Still my favourite album, it was pleasing to hear these tracks again. 


There aren’t a huge number of songs here, for Riverside rarely do short numbers and four here extend well over ten-minutes each. There’s the gentle Left Out, which smoulders from the delicate intro to a fully fleshed out and extended version of the original, the vibrancy of Egotist Hedonist, also from Anno Domini High Definition and the glorious 15-minute version of The Place Where I Belong which sees superb performances from all the band, and a huge and deserved ovation at the end. Each track is absorbing, allowing you deep into the whole psyche of this incredible band.


And nowhere is that more dynamic than the encore, Conceiving You, from Second Life Syndrome, which draws you completely into its welcoming arms before the explosive last minute and a half leaves you gasping with its intensity. There is full audience participation throughout, but on this spectacular finale it proves once more how loved this intelligent and mesmerising band is. 


Live albums can be a bit dull. Live ID is not one of those releases. For those who love Riverside, this will be a welcome addition. For those curious or yet to take the plunge, this is the ideal album with which to do so. Dive in. The water is lovely.

Live ID is released on 17th January via Inside Out Music.



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