One might recognize Dan Kirwan from noisy New Jersey heavy rockers Pyre Fyre, and I’m pretty sure Victor Marinelli was in ’90s-era alt-rockers Half Hour to Go, but Rolls the River would seem to have little to do with either of those stylistically. If the impending first single “Love of Driving” — set to release Nov. 7, as per the headline above — is anything to go by, the duo have a determined krautrock influence that comes through in the drums and the prominence of the keyboards alongside the shuffling rhythm of the psych-leaning four-and-a-half-minute track. With enough low-end presence to be heavy-adjacent, the two-piece cast an immediate fluidity and let that hold the day as vocals are largely buried in the mix with effects, less to establish a presence than add to the atmosphere. If you called it ‘hypnotic,’ that would seem to be part of the point.

Normally I’d have some audio or a teaser or something for you to go on at the bottom of this post. Not this time. They don’t have any other songs up — hence “debut single” — but the good news is that November is only far away in my mind where it’s still August in everything but the temperature and the leaves on the trees, and from the sound of the track, it may be the first, but doesn’t at all seem like the last we’ll hear from Rolls the River. I wonder which river they’re talking about. The Hudson? The Delaware? Could it even be the mighty Passaic?

The PR wire brings further intrigue:

Introducing psychedelic krautrockers Rolls the River; debut single “Love of Driving” out November 7th

Psychedelic kraut and post-rock from New Jersey

Debut single “Love of Driving” out November 7th

Rolls the River is the sound of two restless minds from New Jersey dissolving boundaries. Formed by Dan Kirwan and Victor Marinelli, RTR blends hypnotic grooves and atmospheric layers into a genre-defying flow.

Drawing from Krautrock, psych rock, post rock, and prog, their music rejects labels to chase feeling, built on intuition, texture, and movement. With swirling synths, hypnotic bass, and experimental rhythms, each track feels like a deep dive into something raw, cinematic, and alive.

Rolls the River is less about destination, more about drift. Always in motion, never in a box.

In the band’s own words:

“Our debut single, “Love of Driving”, explores the human compulsion to move forward, emotionally, physically, and existentially. It captures the tension between progress and presence, urgency and emptiness. It’s a meditation on the basic human fear of being left behind, or worse, left out. It’s a song about motion as identity, and the quiet anxiety that rides in the passenger seat.

Rolls the River will be releasing additional material in the coming months as we expand our lineup to play live shows in the NY/NJ area.”

Rolls the River – Love of Driving

Single out November 7th, 2025 (Digital)
Self-released
New Jersey

FFO: Minami Deutsch, Verstarker, Stereolab, Tortoise, Goat, Osees, Camera, Horse Lords, Moon Duo, Kraftwerk, Sankt Otten, Neu!, CAN

Rolls the River is:
Dan Kirwan – Bass, Vox, Guitar
Victor Marinelli – Guitar, Vox, Synth, Drums

https://rollstheriver.bandcamp.com/
https://www.instagram.com/rollstheriver/

Tags: Love of Driving, New Jersey, Rolls the River, Rolls the River Love of Driving

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 29th, 2025 at 11:40 am and is filed under Whathaveyou. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.