Rivulets

Nathan Amundson records under the alias Rivulets, shaping a distinctive fusion of folk, slowcore, and stripped-down indie rock that calls to mind the somber romanticism of Mark Kozelek’s Red House Painters alongside the stark, windswept textures crafted by Iceland’s Sigur Rós. He first adopted the Rivulets moniker in 1999, releasing a self-titled debut on Chairkickers’ Union, the Duluth, Minnesota imprint operated by the longstanding indie rock group Low. Frequently built around little more than vocals and restrained guitar, the project maintains a soft surface that nonetheless carries genuine emotional force. Its minimal arrangements often conjure the solitude and strange allure found at the heart of a frozen lake during winter. Rivulets’ lean instrumentation has periodically expanded through contributions from additional players, among them Low’s Alan Sparhawk and Mimi Parker. From 1999 through 2004 the project issued multiple albums and EPs while appearing on various compilations. Chairkickers’ Union put out two full-lengths: a 2002 self-titled release and the 2003 follow-up Debridement. The EP You’ve Got Your Own surfaced in 2004, succeeded in 2006 by the full-length You Are My Home on Important Records. A digital-only anthology titled The Stray Songs 2000-2010 arrived in 2010, and 2011 brought both the self-released Yearlings EP and the album We’re Fucked, again on Important Records. Amundson’s continued output saw I Remember Everything issued by Jellyfant Records in 2014 and In Our Circle released via Talitres Records in 2018.