Bay Ledges delivers a hypnotic form of indie-pop that alters the way we experience time, inviting both a dreamlike nostalgia and heightened attention to the present moment. In the making of Bay Ledges’ sophomore album Rivers, singer/songwriter/producer Zach Hurd brought his inventive musicality to a body of work partly written in response to the death of several family members, infusing each track with equal parts unguarded feeling and unfettered imagination. With its title referring to two distinct bodies of water in his home state of Maine, Rivers arrives as a quietly enthralling reflection on love, loss, and change.

The follow-up to Bay Ledges’ 2022 debut album Ritual, Rivers expands on its predecessor’s kaleidoscopic sound and embraces an even more free-form approach to songcraft and production. But while the new LP contains some of his most experimental and emotionally layered output to date, its songs remain rooted in the playful spirit, graceful musicianship, and timeless sense of melody first shown on Bay Ledges’ breakthrough single “Safe” (a 2016 release that reached No. 3 on Spotify’s Global Viral Chart), as well as the effortlessly warm presence he’s brought to the stage in touring with the likes of Goth Babe and Big Wild and performing sold-out headlining shows at such iconic venues as the Troubadour in Los Angeles.

In bringing Rivers to life, Hurd worked entirely on his own at his former home studio on the Androscoggin—a river that flows out to a nearby bay and joins with the Kennebec River, which in turn runs through his hometown of Bath. Before setting to work on the album, Hurd met with his loved ones at the Kennebec and spread the ashes of five family members, including his father and a cousin who died in 2022. “My cousin loved music and it was such a huge part of our connection,” he says. “At first I envisioned making this album for him, but I had a hard time writing with such a specific vision in mind. Once I let go of that idea and let everything flow, I ended up creating something that honors all those people in its own way.”

Newly based in Northern California, Hurd looks back on his time spent living on the Androscoggin as deeply influential on his development as an artist. “During those three years the river became a huge part of my life,” he says. “I’d work on the album and then take breaks and walk along the river, recording voice memos with whatever ideas came to me. After a while I realized that the river is a metaphor for so many things, including writing songs. To me, it’s like fishing in a river—either you’re going to get something or you’re not, and you can’t really force it, but you do have to show up. I think there’s so much power and magic in that.”