Gabby Rivers: What is the Problem?
(Self Release)
A bold, fuzz-drenched collection, the seven-track release sees Gabby Rivers truly find her sound, moving decisively away from the singer-songwriter and indie tendencies of her beginnings towards a rawer, grittier aesthetic best categorised as grunge-pop.
Having steadily built a reputation across the south of the UK with festival slots including Latitude Festival and Reading and Leeds Festivals, alongside plays on BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 6 Music and headline shows spanning East Anglia to London, Rivers has already carved out a name for herself. Driven by crunching distorted basslines, scuzzy guitar riffs and gritty, unpolished production, the new EP feels like an exciting step forward.
From the opening track Medicine, Gabby showcases this stylistic shift. The track’s slightly discordant chord progression, crunchy bass and punchy drums underpin angsty lead vocals. As it builds towards the chorus, anticipation mounts before bursting into a wall of distorted guitars beneath confessional, biting lyricism. As comparable to Alvvays and Beach Riot as it is to Avril Lavigne, the track opens the EP with a bang.
Elsewhere, standout Dig Me captures the essence of Gabby’s music – opening with jangly guitar chords beneath her youthful, cynical and slightly bratty vocal delivery before exploding into an almost shouted, expressive and raw chorus, propelled by purposeful alternative-rock urgency and grungy attitude.
Lipstick Karma blends garage-rock bite with grunge attitude, anchored by Rivers’ instinctive melodic hooks and unfiltered lyricism. From the explosive coming-of-age punch of Dig Me to the brooding tension of the title track and the slow-burning ascent of Lipstick Karma, the record feels urgent, cohesive and creatively re-energised.
Noise channels Wet Leg’s spoken-word nonchalance with floating vocal production over bright, biting guitar tones, drawing comparisons to Wolf Alice, while What is the Problem? showcases more of Gabby’s ability to use music as catharsis — demanding the respect she no doubt deserves.
The fuzzy bass and punching guitars and drums of Leave Me Alone set a driving tone, beautifully contrasted by the atmospheric emotional depth of Always messing with my mind, which brings a more expansive, dream-pop-infused soundscape. The EP closes on a jerky, angular chord sequence that lingers long after the final note.
Speaking about the EP, Rivers reflects on a period of uncertainty following her 2023 release, describing an ‘identity crisis’ that led her to step back throughout 2024: “This EP has been a long time coming, after releasing my EP in 2023 I found it was full of different genres and I did not know where my creative direction was heading, I felt like I had a music identity crisis, I didn’t know who I wanted to be as an artist, what I wanted to create or how I wanted to sound. I took most of 2024 off as an artist, I barely did any shows or any releases because I wanted to write, create and figure out what I wanted. Allowing that breathing space allowed me to create What is the problem? the EP I have always wanted to create, the sound I have always wanted to make, the artist I was inspired from growing up merged into an EP. It felt like the band and everyone involved understood the vision and ran with it.
The EP is inspired by a time in my life where I got betrayed by a few people in a short space of time, I was blind sighted in relationships I thought were good for me but were actually ruining me. After long nights, conversations and a lot of poetry writing I walked away from it all. Although it was hard and upset me, creating this EP helped me cope.”
The new EP is as much a statement from Gabby as it is a form of personal healing. As many creatives will attest, her struggles and relationship breakdowns are woven throughout the record, while her stylistic evolution highlights her defiance and determination to push forward despite the hurdles she has been forced to overcome. It’s a strong release that underscores her potential as both a performer and songwriter.
Follow Gabby Rivers
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All words by Simon Lucas-Hughes. More writing by Simon Lucas-Hughes can be found at his author’s archive.
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