Riley! have released their new EP, To Live And Die In The American South, marking the band’s debut release on Pure Noise Records. Alongside the five track EP, the South Texas outfit have also shared its closing track, 73 Summers, a deeply personal song inspired by the loss of frontman Ryan Bluhm’s grandfather.
Bluhm revealed he wrote the song around the tenth anniversary of his grandfather’s death, describing it as a way of processing grief and the unanswered questions left behind. He explained that the track was intentionally placed as the EP’s closer, with its gradual build and fading piano ending reflecting both the record’s conclusion and the sudden silence left after loss.
“This is a tough one to talk about,” Bluhm said. “I wrote this song around the 10 year mark of my grandfather’s passing.”
He continued by explaining that his grandfather helped raise him and that, after his death, he struggled to understand how to move forward. The song became a way of expressing the conversations he wishes he could still have today.
To Live And Die In The American South sees Riley! continue building on the momentum of Keep Your Cool while making their first release with Pure Noise Records. Produced by Phil Odom in Austin, Texas, the EP also features guest appearances from Hot Mulligan’s Tades Sanville, Heart Attack Man’s Eric Egan and Gabe Wood of Saturdays at Your Place.
The release arrives alongside news of more touring, with Riley! set to join Hot Mulligan across the US before continuing to take the new EP to audiences around the world.