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Absolution

by Riverby

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    listen to riverby's new album the analog way, on a badass cassette

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    cute lil riverby logo on a comfy black shirt, absolutely
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    over the moon for this shirt
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    cute lil riverby hands logo on a cozy grey hoodie
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  • Other Apparel

    riverby moon shirt , plus a cassette , plus a CD !
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  • Other Apparel

    the hands hoodie will keep you warm while you listen to this CD, or cassette, or both at the same time
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1.
Baseless 02:39 video
Do you remember my hands around your throat You begged me, begged me to let you go Hand up my skirt, tore me to shreds And you fucking begged me to get my hands off your neck Baseless, baseless It’s all just baseless You’re not that kind of guy Keep on praying to Jesus You can take it up with God Remember when you said that I was fucking crazy Like what did I expect on a Saturday night You’re begging on your knees and you’re calling me baby You’re fucking lucky I let you walk out alive You couldn’t even get me in my sleep Baseless, baseless It’s all just baseless You’re not that kind of guy Keep on praying to Jesus You can take it up with God Save your words No one asked you to write some letter How could you think explaining yourself Could ever make this any better Save your defences I don’t wanna hear your pleads I wanna be an asshole, I wanna get even I wanna hear you scream Baseless, baseless It’s all just baseless You’re not that kind of guy Keep on praying to Jesus You can take it up with God Baseless, baseless It’s all just baseless Not that kind of guy Keep on praying to Jesus You can take it up with God Baseless, baseless It’s all just baseless You’re not that kind of guy Keep on praying to Jesus You can take it up with God
2.
The Moon 03:56
Do you remember taking me into your room Playing songs on your guitar Broken strings under the moon And you bring up all the people you know Forget to mention They don’t like you anymore And now you hear I’m writing songs and you’re telling everyone I’m still in love with you How does it feel to know you only exist in my past? How does it feel to learn life comes at you fast? No I didn’t want another drink or go to another bar It’s too late and I got tired of telling myself that we’ll go far I think of you sometimes when they say something perfect And I wonder if you wanted to say it to me Or if you liked to keep my dangling up on your hook Watch me bleed out in the water for the sharks No I don’t wanna go to your show where you’ll ignore me the whole time And call me after it’s been done asking me to stay the night I hope one day you find what you’re looking for If it was me, you would’ve known long ago But I can’t wait for change to come It’s like waiting at a train station for a train that doesn’t run You’re a train that doesn’t run
3.
I come alive when you fall asleep It’s just a distraction I live in your dreams Oh no baby, you found yourself In love with a concept again Oh no, I think you went and Lost what’s in your head You say you want me But I’m a figment in your phone screen You miss what you created To forget how lonely life can be Another person The best intentions You fell in love with someone you designed I come alive when you fall asleep It’s just a distraction I live in your dreams Get me out of this sad scene I gotta escape it I live in your dreams How many nice guys does it take To screw in a light bulb Just one to do it And fifteen to cry they didn’t get a chance to try it Let me guess I remind you Of someone you saw in the movies I’m not some fucking dream girl That needs your god damn fixing Another person The best intentions You fell in love with someone you designed I come alive when you fall asleep It’s just a distraction I live in your dreams Get me out of this sad scene I gotta escape it I live in your dreams Oh no baby, you found yourself In love with a concept again Oh no, I think you went and Lost what’s in your head I come alive when you fall asleep It’s just a distraction I live in your dreams Get me out of this sad scene I gotta escape it I live in your dreams I come alive when you fall asleep It’s just a distraction I live in your dreams Get me out of this sad scene I gotta escape it I live in your dreams I live in your dreams
4.
Fall In Love 04:14
I’ve seen boys like you a million times before You’ll ask for inches And take some miles And you won’t want me anymore Your perfect smile Hides your crooked teeth I’ve seen you bite your tongue Instead of say what you need to me I don’t wanna fall in love I don’t wanna fall in love I don’t wanna fall in love with you It took so long for me to remember No other person can bring a flame to these embers And you look like someone ready to go on the run You’re not as bright as you made me believe You’re just a fragment of the sun I don’t wanna fall in love I don’t wanna fall in love I don’t wanna fall in love with you I’ve seen boys like you a million times before You’ll ask for inches And take some miles And you won’t want me anymore I don’t wanna fall in love I don’t wanna fall in love I don’t wanna fall in love I don’t wanna fall in love I don’t wanna fall in love I don’t wanna fall in love I don’t wanna fall in love with you
5.
You love to watch them slip through your fingers Like crushing flowers in your hands Watch the petals fall away Watching them walk away You’ve always been something you don’t understand And I know that your feelings Are like a language you keep speaking But you can’t hear the words And I know you’ve never felt grown in your body A heartbroken child endlessly wandering When you look at yourself, what do you see? Cause this world is fleeting And this life moves fast If there’s one thing you learn It’s that not all towers were built to last You’re certain that it’s rotten work to love you Forgotten flowers pressed in pages Drying in the seams Do you still think you can be saved? Or are you so in love with your pain? I know that you wanna be screaming It feels like you’re falling when you should be dreaming Will you ever just let it all go? I know your heart’s always breaking Feels like your chest is constantly caving When you breathe in, do you hold your breath? Cause this world is fleeting And this life moves fast If there’s one thing for sure What will come will always pass I know this heart is too heavy to hold I know this heart is too heavy to hold I know this heart is too heavy to hold I know this heart is too heavy to hold I know this heart is too heavy to hold I know this heart is too heavy
6.
I don’t see how You came back from the dead I thought we killed you I saw them take off your head Lured me in Saccharine sweet, poison tongue I saved myself, oh yes I did And I know I’m not the only one I don’t need you I learned to love myself I don’t need you I learned to love myself And I know hundreds of people Who have been hurt by people like you Push a wounded animal into a corner What did you expect it to do? I don’t need you I learned to love myself I don’t need you I learned to love myself I don’t need you I learned to love myself I don’t need you I learned to love myself
7.
Don’t you think if I could rip the skin off my bones And burn every nerve I have Just to forget how it felt to be touched by you I would’ve done it by now I think I’m gonna Burn your House Down I think I’m gonna Burn your House down I will never let you forget And you will never get a moment’s rest Until you can’t take a step outside Without hearing my name or seeing my face I think I’m gonna Burn your House down I think I’m gonna Burn your House Down I wish I could rip out Every one of your teeth And replace them with barbed wire So you will never eat I think I’m gonna Burn your House down I think I’m gonna Burn your House Down I think I’m gonna Burn your House down I think I’m gonna Burn your House Down
8.
Say It 03:16
I don’t think that you love me Just say it I don’t think that you love me Just say it I don’t think that you love me Just say it I don’t think that you love me Why won’t you say it? What if I told you I can’t do this anymore? What if you told me Something you’ve never said before? I hope nobody loves you The way that I did I don’t think anyone deserves The pain that I’m in I don’t think that you love me Just say it I don’t think that you love me Just say it I don’t think that you love me Just say it I don’t think that you love me Why won’t you say it? There’s a rattle in my chest An ache in my bones Whenever you come near Because to me, you feel like home And I can’t bear to lose What I barely have And you won’t lose a wink of sleep That’s what makes this sad It makes it sad I don’t think that you love me Just say it I don’t think that you love me Just say it I don’t think that you love me Just say it I don’t think that you love me Why won’t you say it?
9.
Chapel 03:28
I’ll be a chapel in your hospital And I’ll hold all the prayers you give me And I know which ones get left behind I don’t know what will become of me Without you to keep me singing But I know I love you, I love you so It’s not my fault I fell so far in Please don’t blame me for missing a step Please don’t leave me on my own Who will I be, who will I be? And I don’t know how long I’ll be your baby You’re gonna have to cut the strings You will have to learn to let me go eventually It’s not my fault I fell so far in Please don’t blame me for missing a step Please don’t leave me on my own Who will I be, who will I be? But I know I love you, I love you so I know I love you, I love you so I know I love you, I love you so I know I love you, I love you It’s not my fault I fell so far in Please don’t blame me for missing a step Please don’t leave me on my own Who will I be, who will I be? Who will I be, who will I be? I love you I love you so
10.
I’m walking home Bloody knuckles, bloody nose It’s not a long walk from the park Just long enough to think of this and break my heart There’s are nights I don’t remember Days and weeks are lost to time I feel so much older now Wondering when I’ll have something to call mine It’s the sidewalk cracks and train tracks Sounds of people braver than me Falling in love and falling asleep I can’t close my eyes, I feel paralyzed Stuck thinking about so much I can’t control But it’s home to me when I’m remembering things We’re sitting on the mountain and you don’t even know These are the things I will never let go of Lost nights wandering down Main Street Abandoning the people we said we would meet Running around, making messes of each other And I know in my heart, I will never get another Chance like this In basements talking shit And I’ll admit, I never thought I would ever be this lucky There’s so much I can’t live without And now I think that I’m scared to die Cause there’s so much more left of this life How could I be without you all When you’re all that I have? I can’t imagine the ending I can’t imagine the ending You all helped me find my heart Ripped it out from under the floor It’s beating in my ears now Louder than ever before Who could go through life without you? You don’t know how you saved me Trust me, I do Trust me, I do And when we sing this song I hope you all remember All the moments we shared Singing Last December You saved me when I needed it Pulled me out of the water I didn’t know I was drowning I didn’t know I was drowning And now I think that I’m scared to die Cause there’s so much more left of this life How could I be without you all When you’re all that I have? I can’t imagine the ending I can’t imagine the ending I can’t imagine the ending I can’t imagine the ending I can’t imagine the ending I can’t imagine the ending I can’t imagine the ending -------- I want to be absolved I would hate to lose you But I can’t love you the way you deserve to be loved I can’t see you, I don’t even know what I saw There’s so many things I have to do There’s so many things I have to change I have to leave you I want to be absolved I would hate to lose you Some things can’t be solved The greatest mystery is you I want to be absolved I would hate to lose you Some things can’t be solved The greatest mystery is you

about

August Greenberg has a bank of 150 songs. They’ve been working on this trove since 2015 after a move to Philadelphia, letting their comfort with the acoustic guitar stretch and strengthen. After a show at local venue Kung Fu Necktie, August met guitarist Tyler Asay, pulled him into their world, and the two of them emerged with The Guide to Oversharing in May 2019. Produced by Tyler and enhanced by friends met at local gigs and in other projects, it was their first outing as Riverby, departing from the solitude of bedroom recording for a homegrown dabble into pop-rock glitz and flute-kissed poetry.

During an open mic smoke break in nearby Manayunk, Riverby scooped up bassist Doug Keller to relieve Tyler of dual duty. Dan Nazario would round out the quartet on drums, debuting on “Maybe,” a single overseen by his producer brother Justin. As the band’s live presence continued in and around the city, the band was Frankensteining song ideas to deliver something more intentioned and focused than its predecessor. But when looking at Smart Mouth in the rearview, August views their debut album with less-than rose-colored glasses. “We were just getting high in a basement messing around. If you listen, you can hear how out of tune things are.” (Nevertheless, the home-recorded Smart Mouth and its bright, punchy pop punk earned them a spot on the Take This to Heart Records roster and nods from local tastemakers The Key and national ones, like NPR.)

The road to Absolution—out March 25th via T3H—began with a fine-tuned comb through Riverby’s influences, everything from the Dragon Age series of role-playing games to a brush with the Pixies and Talking Heads. August initially approached the follow-up as a concept record tied to specific tarot cards, but the final narrative rested around the unlikeliest of inspirations: religion in the face of the end. “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. i don’t even believe in God, but on the off chance He’s fucking real, I’d like us to be cool.”

Riverby entered the studio with Jim Wirt (Jack’s Mannequin, Fiona Apple) in July, a process that could be summed up as gleeful surrender. “Jim wanted us to record guitars chord by chord. It was hell, but he said it would work out. We let him do whatever he asked, and it did work out,” August recalls. Wirt’s advice extended to song-shaping touches, like the scattershot cowbell/shaker rhythm on “Off With Yr Head'' and the swells of Rhodes exhaling through “Heavy to Hold.” The band was also augmented by Camille Faulkner’s string arrangements, adding dramatic heft and shocking urgency into songs that were already, for the most part, bursting at the seams with activity. (A key exception to this is “Chapel,” a spare acoustic ballad that had August resisting every impulse to cart in the full band.)

Absolution builds on Smart Mouth’s imperfections by baking them into the formula. “Making a perfect record is so dumb,” August admits with a slight laugh. “When you see me live, it’s not perfect, so I wanted to capture that.” This lack of restraint led to moments of discovery in the studio, like how the venom spat through opener “Baseless” pushed back against denials of sinister behavior while being mostly ad-libbed. The thundering and wounded “Say It,” a song blueprinted in 2018 left to rot on the cutting room floor, was saved by the studio time, transforming far beyond its first stage. 

Riverby’s twin flames of self-reliance and self-preservation continue here, just with more teeth. August barrels through “The Moon,” the band’s love letter to early-2010s indie, exasperated and frustrated as the band grows skittish. “Burn Yr House Down,” targeted towards an abuser, is vicious and acid-tongued, a write-in for most chaotic when played live. “Birth by Sleep” topples the pedestals built by dopey conceptualizers, a eureka moment that August left a shower to write down, shampoo still in their hair.

Absolution gains its title and thematic elements from a hidden gem tucked away in “Imagine the Ending,” a closer honoring a departed friend and the tender connections at the heart of the band. What began as an epic eight-minute closer was whittled down by thirty seconds each time it was rehearsed—netting an emotionally dense moment amplified by churning strings. No spoilers for the hidden track. Sometimes you don’t get all the answers right away. No one knows that more than Riverby.

credits

released March 25, 2022

Engineered and mixed by Jim Wirt and Sean Dougherty

Mastered by John Naclerio

Art: Mikaela Jane

In memory of Lee Schusterman and Stanley Tworek

Special thanks to Ashrita Kumar, Justin Nazario, Kathleen Pearlberg, The Grape Room, Dawson Street Pub, John Domenico, Sofia Arnold, Jenna Siegel

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our debut record ‘smart mouth’ out now!!!

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