Zach Hurd of Bay Ledges. Photo by Ryan Lumley

“Rivers” is the scintillating sophomore album from Bay Ledges, the namesake of musician Zach Hurd, who is originally from Bath and currently living in Berkeley, California.

The album name is a nod to the Kennebec and Androscoggin rivers, both deeply significant places to Hurd.

Released on Friday, “Rivers” comprises 10 tracks, three of which are instrumental.

With currents of indie-pop and electronica and a singer-songwriter core, “Rivers” delivers a sumptuous listening experience. This is an album that can take you from a dreamy, front porch evening with “In the Treetops” to a tender moment with “Fool”  and straight into a trippy night out with “Setting Free.”

“Setting Free” is in fact Hurd’s current favorite “Rivers” track. “It came about after we spread my dad and his parents’ ashes,” said Hurd during an interview from a tour stop in Oklahoma.

Hurd lost his father in 2013. Last year, there were ashes-spreading ceremonies on the Kennebec River  for his father’s ashes, along with those of some grandparents and a cousin.

Hurd channeled grief into a high-energy, electronica song:

I wanna know where your love goes
I wanna know how to set me free

Bay Ledges “Rivers” album cover. Design by Kris Chau

On “Rivers,” Hurd plays all the instruments, including acoustic guitar, electric guitar, bass and keys. There’s also some drum programming and sound samples used that Hurd captured with his iPhone.

Hurd got a guitar for Christmas when he was 12 years old. He and a friend started playing Nirvana songs together.

At Wheaton College, Hurd majored in American history and theater. During the years leading up to graduation, he started playing open mic nights in Boston and Providence.

Hurd’s love for songwriting and performing never wavered, and the dedication eventually paid off.

“Rivers” is the next chapter in a music career that’s already on terra firma.

On Spotify, Bay Ledges has more than a million monthly listeners and at least nine tracks have each accrued several million streams.

Hurd said it all started with the song “Safe.”

Released in 2016, the single blew up quickly and has since been streamed more than 26 million times on Spotify.

Hurd’s online presence as Bay Ledges had initially been on the SoundCloud streaming platform, without any photos or even his real name.

“I kept it very mysterious, and gradually it just started to pick up steam,” said Hurd.

Hurd started Bay Ledges as a creative outlet in 2014, while living in Los Angeles. “It was a passion project,” he said. Within two years, Hurd was working with the label S-Curve Records but moved over to the Nettwerk Music Group a few years later.

After college, Hurd, 44, lived in New York City for seven years and was lured to Los Angeles in 2014 by his two sisters, both residents.

While working in a restaurant, Hurd met his wife, Clara Lee.

When the pandemic hit, Lee, a doctor, was finishing up her residency in Fresno. The couple decided to move to Maine and lived in Brunswick until March of this year. Hurd said they returned to the West Coast because they both love it there, and Lee got a job at a Bay Area hospital.

Hurd said he hopes to perform in Maine this winter. His last show here was as the opener for Goth Babe at the State Theatre last August.

“Rivers” is available on streaming platforms and can be purchased on vinyl at bayledges.com.