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84 Tigers share new single 'Two Rivers' featuring Rocky Votolato
84 Tigers share new single 'Two Rivers' featuring Rocky Votolato
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Wednesday, September 3, 2025 - 21:23
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Thomas

Michigan post-hardcore trio 84 Tigers return with their soaring new single “Two Rivers” featuring acclaimed singer-songwriter Rocky Votolato. The track arrives ahead of the band’s upcoming sophomore album, Nothing Ends, due October 17 via Spartan Records, and follows the band’s recent single “The Crush of It All.”

For guitarist/vocalist Mike Reed, the song carries profound emotional weight.

“‘Two Rivers’ is a tribute to Travis Dopp (Small Brown Bike). Some of his lyrics are quoted in the song. When Rocky and I realized that we had both written songs with the word ‘River’ in the title separately, it was cosmic fate that brought him into the song. I had no idea what it would become, but he took it to new heights and I still get choked up when I hear it.”

Formed by brothers Mike and Ben Reed (Small Brown Bike) and longtime friend Jono Diener (The Swellers), 84 Tigers first made waves in 2022 with Time in the Lighthouse, earning praise for their widescreen mix of post-hardcore urgency, ’90s alt-rock grit, and sweeping melodic hooks.

But the path to Nothing Ends was marked by loss. The sudden passing of lifelong friend and former bandmate Travis Dopp left the band in mourning and searching for direction. “I questioned if losing a creative partner took the energy out of my process,” recalls Reed. “Songs started and stopped. I struggled. Then one day it broke—this mantra popped into my head: Tears in your eyes. Fist in the air. That became a path forward.”

Produced by Marc Jacob Hudson, Nothing Ends channels that grief into catharsis, pairing unflinching honesty with a raw, three-piece dynamic. From the aching tribute of “Two Rivers” to the hopeful “Only Light” and the rousing “Regeneration Days” (featuring Aaron Stauffer of Seaweed/Ghost Work), the record is both devastating and comforting—culminating in its closing refrain: “Everything you love will hurt you someday.”