Philadelphia-based pop punk band Riverby have officially announced their second album, Absolution. The follow up to 2020’s Smart Mouth will release March 25th via Take This To Heart Records. Riverby also dropped “Baseless,” the first single off of the album.
At its core, the song is a call for revenge against a sexual abuser. It’s a gritty, emotional track that manages to be both vulnerable and vicious. Because of the song’s content, Riverby put out a content warning prior to its release.
The song is a fiery track that kicks off with a crisp guitar riff and then immediately hooks the listener in further when singer August Greenberg sneers, “Remember my hands ’round your throat?” That vicious energy holds up throughout the song, their voice a powerhouse delivering delightfully brutal lines like, “You’re begging on your knees and you’re calling me baby, you’re fucking lucky I let you walk out alive.”
Absolution started out as a concept album centered on tarot cards, but the narrative shifted to an in-depth exploration of religion. “It’s about ending fear with mortality and finally coming to solutions with your shit, closing the door on things that have been festering: your history and yourself, and making peace with God,” Greenberg said in a statement. “I don’t even believe in God, but on the off chance He’s fucking real, I’d like us to be cool.”
And as they sing on “Baseless,” keep on praying to Jesus, you can take it up with God.
The band also put out a music video for “Baseless.” You can watch it below, and if you look really hard, you’ll see A LEFT OF THE DIAL T-SHIRT MAKE A CAMEO! <3
Riverby has also dropped a few other previews from Absolution on Twitter in the form of short AMVs (aka anime music videos). Here’s one featuring clips from Ouran High School Host Club. Riverby’s brand of energetic powerpop pairs together quite well with anime – may they get a deal performing the opening for a shounen anime soon. 🙏
If you dig what you’re hearing from Riverby here, be sure to check out the live session we recorded with them or listen to their cover of Taylor Swift’s “We Are Never Getting Back Together.“
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