Canadian folk-pop trio Wild Rivers takes the name of its new album from its opening cut, “Never Better.” The implied assertion, writes Scott Stroud of The Associated Press, is at least debatable. The band’s last full album, “Sidelines,” landed in 2022 as a no-skip masterpiece. It combined memorable, original hooks with angsty lyrics that made the band’s rise to top-tier status seem inevitable. There's plenty of that on “Never Better,” which is set for release July 26. The album contains just enough of the band’s secret sauce, the poignant lyrics and elegant harmonies of singers Khalid Yassein and Devan Glover, to qualify as a worthy follow.
