Touring across the U.S. for the last few years, emo band Riley! spent a lot of time away from their home in South Texas. Originally from the Rio Grande Valley, the three members — vocalist and guitarist Ryan Bluhm, bassist Kris Gallardo, and drummer Cesar “Izzy” Izaguirre — felt a tug-of-war between the environment that shaped them and life as successful touring musicians.
Their latest EP TO LIVE AND DIE IN THE AMERICAN SOUTH, which arrived July 17, navigates the contrasting feelings of adriftness and accomplishment on the road. As a queer, progressive emo band sprouting from Texas, an infamously conservative state, the trio has worked to create a safe space to be themselves.
“There are a lot of themes of trying to feel content with where you are both physically and mentally, which is why it’s called TO LIVE AND DIE IN THE AMERICAN SOUTH,” Bluhm says. “The first song is definitely about having a love-hate relationship with where you’re growing up and where you are in life.”
TO LIVE AND DIE IN THE AMERICAN SOUTH marks the band’s first release since signing with Pure Noise Records, and for the first time, Riley! laid down tracks in a professional studio at Bad Wolf Recordings in Austin alongside producer Phil Odom (Say Anything, Angel Du$t). Together, the band struck a balance between polishing their sound and retaining their edge by drawing inspiration from pop lyrics and incorporating their signature distressed guitars and off-grid drums.
“The way I tend to write is just a flow of words coming out, but they don’t have a definite structure,” Bluhm says. “We played around with a lot more structure and clean guitars. Working in a big studio definitely sounded more polished, but we didn’t want to lose that scrappy vibe.”
The five-track project came together as the band processed life away from home in their 20s. They frequently tour within the emo scene, previously opening up for Ben Quad. With a packed touring schedule, two years have passed since Riley! last released their previous record, Keep Your Cool.
Each tour forms closer connections between the band and audiences who find a reflection of themselves in the group’s vulnerable lyrics. Still, as the band spends more time away from the place that formed them, it’s easy to wonder what life path is best.
On “Two Bucks,” which anchors the record’s main themes of questioning one’s life choices, Bluhm’s gravelly voice soars over angsty guitar tugs, singing, “Is the grass really greener on the other side? / Or is it actually a grand mirage?” The chorus compares Bluhm to a ghost in the night, drifting through life in a haze. Picking up the pace, Bluhm chants, “I’m only passing by / I’m just a blip in time / And nothing here is mine.”
Bluhm says that writing “Two Bucks” helped them navigate the lingering thoughts of whether their hard work is worth it.
“It’s me trying to cope with how I spent a good chunk of my life touring and not being happy with where I am in my music career,” Bluhm says. “It’s trying to come to terms with where I’m at. They all kind of follow that theme in their own way, even if it’s abstract in how they follow it. That song is about how I spent some of the best years of my life missing out on friends’ birthday parties or family members’ stuff.”
Distanced from home, Bluhm says that they’ve learned to appreciate where they come from, even if they didn’t always feel that way. Tucked into the far Southern tip of Texas, the Rio Grande Valley is a predominantly Hispanic region fueled by a bicultural way of life. Naturally, though, the same desire to spread out and chase one’s goals hold true for many of its residents. Bluhm currently lives near San Antonio when they’re not touring, while Izaguirre and Gallardo live back in the RGV.
“I’ve always had that feeling that I wanted to get out of the Valley and see how life would be if I lived somewhere else,” Bluhm says. “But at the same time, I really have a huge respect with where I’m from and a love for it too. It’s a weird thing to try to navigate.”
The RGV’s diverse music scene captured their attention at a young age. Bluhm remembers being a young teenager at metalcore, indie, and pop-punk concerts. Inspired by the emo genre, Bluhm picked up a guitar and started creating music until the band’s formation in 2018.
As the band progressed, though, they felt the need to branch out to reach bigger milestones and learned how to step outside their comfort zone.
“In music, when you start touring, being in the Valley is rough,” Bluhm says. “You’re so far physically from everything. The Valley is a really cool microcosm, but I wanted to be out there too. As I got older, I stopped caring because I’ve traveled a lot now. It’s just where your friends and family are that matters. Wherever they are is home.”
Riley! has learned to identify their own sense of home and belonging. The broad-minded nature of the emo music scene also allowed them to experiment with their art. Bands they came across welcomed them, and some even opened doors to collaborations on this EP, such as with Hot Mulligan singer Tades Sanville on “Another Round of Radical ‘Ritas, Please.”
“The genre itself lends itself to the type of people that are more accepting,” Bluhm says. “I’ve never experienced any feeling different, at least in this community, which is awesome.”
In leaning into the industry, the band still incorporated aspects of their upbringing into this project. The title references their roots, while the ranch visuals and poncho outfits in the “Another Round of Radical ‘Ritas, Please” music video take back the aesthetic of Mexican vaqueros that old Western cowboys adopted. Being authentically themselves, Riley! is finding how to stay true to their origins while meeting new milestones.
On July 11, Riley! kicked off their first headline tour, TO TOUR AND DIE ACROSS VARIOUS PLACES IN AMERICA, followed up by an opening slot for Hot Mulligan in the fall.
As they launch a headlining act, Riley! is experimenting with their setlist, expanding their typical 30-minute opening slot to a full set. Bluhm says they reworked old deep cuts like “Americas Pabstime” and “Our Love is Dog” while practicing to play the new EP, which re-energized their excitement to connect to audiences.
Though Riley! started as friends jamming out together, their ascent to a headline tour continues to push their music careers forward, despite feelings of uncertainty or loneliness.
“We were doing a lot of ‘for fun’ touring, playing basements or small dives with bands that we liked,” Bluhm says. “We started seeing online and in person that people really liked our music and connected with it. Every time we did a run, it just felt like more and more people liked it, and we started getting offers for real tours. It feels fulfilling, especially as we’ve grown doing a lot of these bigger support tours. It feels like I don’t know what the fuck I’d be doing if I wasn’t. I just grew into it.”
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