Riley! have unveiled their new single ‘Two Bucks’, featuring Heart Attack Man’s Eric Egan, ahead of the release of the Texas emo band’s forthcoming EP To Live And Die In The American South on July 17 through Pure Noise Records.
by Paul Cashmere
Texas emo band Riley! have released ‘Two Bucks’, the second preview of their upcoming EP To Live And Die In The American South, due on July 17 via Pure Noise Records. The track features a guest appearance from Heart Attack Man frontman Eric Egan and arrives as the trio prepare for a North American headline run followed by UK dates supporting label mates Ben Quad.
The release marks another step in Riley!’s evolution from a DIY project in South Texas to one of the more closely watched young acts in contemporary emo. To Live And Die In The American South is the band’s first release for Pure Noise Records and follows a steady rise built on self-booked tours, festival appearances and an increasingly devoted audience drawn to their confessional songwriting and modern interpretation of Midwest emo.
Vocalist and guitarist Ryan Bluhm said the inspiration for ‘Two Bucks’ came from the emotional trade-offs that accompany life on the road.
“As a touring musician, you miss out on a lot of your home life, be it birthdays, anniversaries, or just hanging out with friends and loved ones. It sucks. But you do it because, at the same time, it’s typically what gives a lot of us any real sense of purpose,” Bluhm said.
Bluhm described wrestling with the question of what remains after years spent touring and creating music.
“I’ve always had this deep-seated fear that when I die I’ll have not left any proof of life that’s at least meaningful in any way and when I get to travel all over the world and connect with thousands of people through the music my friends and I write, I feel like this is the right thing to do.”
According to Bluhm, Egan connected immediately with the song’s themes when approached to contribute to the recording.
“It was nice to know I’m not crazy and it’s probably a pretty universal feeling in our little world,” they said.
The themes explored on ‘Two Bucks’ run throughout To Live And Die In The American South. The five-song collection deals with isolation, identity, grief and the search for belonging. For Riley!, those subjects are not abstract concepts. The band identify as openly queer and progressive while coming from the Rio Grande Valley in South Texas, an environment they describe as both formative and challenging.
Drummer Cesar “Izzy” Izaguirre said the songs reflect a broader uncertainty that many people experience.
“I feel like nobody really knows if they belong anywhere. That’s what these songs are, just trying to say it out loud,” Izaguirre said.
Riley! formed in 2018 and took their name from Bluhm’s cat. Initially conceived as a low-pressure outlet for Bluhm and bassist Kris Gallardo, the project centred on writing songs in bedroom studios and embarking on DIY tours. Izaguirre joined in 2020, bringing a background in punk and hardcore that expanded the band’s musical palette.
The current line-up has since released the albums Already Fucked in 2021 and Keep Your Cool in 2024, records that established Riley!’s reputation for combining high-capo guitar textures, energetic rhythm work and highly personal lyric writing.
For their Pure Noise debut, the band recorded in Austin, Texas, with producer Phil Odom, whose credits include work with Militarie Gun and Say Anything and who trained under Grammy-winning producer Will Yip. Bluhm said the intention was to refine the band’s sound while maintaining its intensity.
“We were going for something a little bit more polished. Not everyone is necessarily into screaming emo music, so we wanted to make things a bit more digestible,” they said.
The EP opens with the syncopated urgency of ‘Roll For Initiative’ before moving through songs that examine exclusion, friendship and impermanence. Guest appearances from Hot Mulligan’s Tades Sanville, Heart Attack Man’s Eric Egan and Gabe Wood of Saturdays At Your Place reinforce the collaborative spirit that has developed around the current emo scene.
With To Live And Die In The American South, Riley! are presenting a record rooted in the specifics of South Texas life while dealing with experiences that extend well beyond geography. The release also positions the trio for their next stage of international touring and continued growth within a revitalised emo community.
To Live And Die In The American South EP Track Listing:
Roll For Initiative
Another Round Of Radical ‘Ritas, Please (Ft Tades Sanville / Hot Mulligan)
Two Bucks (Ft Eric Egan)
Backseat Bartender (Ft Gabe Wood)
73 Summers
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