Other trades have called it “Adult Alternative.” The station’s own slogan is “Richmond’s Best Alternative.” But “The River,” Cox’s new format for the former Hot AC “Mix 103.7” WMXB, is more interesting and complicated. It’s Cox’s second unusual hybrid in a few weeks' time after San Antonio’s X106.7.

The music image promos I've heard in my first 40 minutes or so of listening suggest Cox’s version of WRFF Philadelphia’s gold-based, adult-friendly Alternative format. (“Learn To Fly,” “Sunday Bloody Sunday,” “In The End,” “Only Happy When It Rains”). But the stretch I've heard is much heavier on ’90s Modern AC music—also the music that defined Top 40 in the south in those years. The net effect is somewhere between WRFF and the early days of WWFS (Fresh 102.7) New York’s soft-but-contemporary AC.

Presentationally, The River is all liners and music so far. It’s promising to respect the music and not talk over songs. It’s also imaging, like many Cox stations, around 52 minutes of music an hour.

At the risk of weighing in a little early (anything this new is obviously a work in progress and Cox has been known to deploy smokescreens), here’s The River at 5:20 p.m. today, April 22:

Creed, “Higher”

Sister Hazel, “All For You”

Nickelback, “How You Remind Me”

Alanis Morissette, “You Learn”

Train, “Hey Soul Sister”

Kenny Wayne Shepard, “Blue On Black” (nominally a Triple-A record, but in this context, no different from Creed or Sister Hazel)

Matchbox Twenty, “Real World”

Coldplay, “Clocks”

Pearl Jam, “Daughter”

Smash Mouth, “All Star”

Sneaker Pimps, “6 Underground” (the first WRFF-ish song)

Saving Abel, “Addicted”

Squeeze, “Tempted” (with a “The River Remembers” stager)

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*The Radio-Info.com boards are discussing the flip here:*