Title: “Asylum”
Artist: Riot! in the Boulevard
Album: “Young Cardinals” (2016)
Release Date: August 6, 2016
Length: 4:12
Format: CD Single, Digital Download, Weekly Airplay, 7” Single
Recorded: April - August 2016 - Village Studios - Los Angeles, California, USA
Genre: Alternative Rock, Pop-Punk
Label: Studio60 Records
Written: May/June 2016
Writer(s): Adam Benjamin, Amy Meyer, Jason Greenberg
Producer(s): Riot! in the Boulevard, Cara Zayn
“Asylum” is a song written and recorded by the Las Vegas based alternative rock trio ‘Riot! in the Boulevard’ and taken from their sixth studio album “Young Cardinals”. It’s the first single to be dropped from the upcoming album and will likely be a key indication of what their latest album will sound like. It’s thought that the release of their sixth album will see the band continue to build on their reputation, with the release of their fifth album “Boycott Love” they re-released a remixed version of the record which featured a host of the industry’s best rap and hip-hop artists. It’s not expected that the band will once again release a remixed version of the album, but it’s thought that the band will once again have an idea up their sleeves in order to make their latest album stand out from their previous work. It was even highlighted recently in an interview with lead singer Amy Meyer where she stated, “I think because we’re on album number six, we need to constantly think of ways to make our work feel new and unique from our previous ones. If we continually just release twelve song records each year I feel like we’re gonna get bored and just as importantly, I think our fans may get bored. That was the reason why we tried the remixed re-release just to give it something different and we loved seeing that come to fruition. So it’s definitely possible that we do something like that again with our next record and see what we can come up with.”
The music and lyrics were written and composed between the end of May and the beginning of June 2016 while on their stint in Europe as part of their Hostile Takeover world tour. It’s said that the band found it exciting that they were naturally leaning towards different themes within their music and bassist Jason Greenberg recently claimed that this was needed, “When you’re part of a band that has released as much music as we have over a short period it’s easy to fall into the same tried and tested formula’s and I’ll be the first to admit that we’ve done that a fair bit. I like to think that we’ve always put out music that has something slightly different, but I’m not naïve enough to believe that we haven’t followed a formula for the majority of our career so far. But on the same side, you don’t want changes in your music to feel forced. With Asylum, I think it came naturally to us and it’s lit a fire underneath us. We had already had an idea of what we wanted from the next record, but when we wrote Asylum, we’ve almost re-thought the entire record.”
The song was then recorded in July, during the band’s time spent at Village Studios in Los Angeles, California where they decided to record the new album. A change up for the band, that recorded their previous two albums primarily in their own studio in their hometown of Las Vegas, Nevada. Again a reason for this decision was to freshen things up and the thought was that a new surrounding and City could ignite different ideas and inspiration for the band.
“Asylum” marks the first release from their upcoming sixth album and potentially the beginning of a new chapter in the careers of the trio from Las Vegas. It also marks the 20th single to be released from the band since their breakthrough back in 2011. Although the song marks the first release from their next studio album and the beginning of their promo for that record, it’s expected that the album won’t be released anytime soon, with the band saying that an early to mid-2017 release date is more likely for the record as they’re still currently writing and recording for the album. It’s been said that completed songs will continue to be released in the months prior to the album and that one of the ideas is to have a large collection of songs released ahead of the album, not all will necessarily be included in the initial album release. The track was produced by Riot! in the Boulevard and Cara Zayn and will be released as a CD Single, Digital Download and will be available to Weekly Airplay and distributed through Studio60 Records on August 6, 2016.
ALTERNATIVE PRESS REVIEW;Riot! in the Boulevard come roaring back to the forefront of modern rock music like they have done so many times before. The feeling is very familiar to fans of the band as that first initial release from an upcoming new album always brings a little more excitement as to what to expect from the Vegas trio. And they have stepped up their game a little more in recent years, incorporating different elements to all sides of their music but making sure to stay true to their pop-punk roots. In their previous two albums, we’ve heard more experimentation with electronic instruments, we’ve heard elements of funk and soul in the basslines and vocals and we’ve even see the band work alongside the very best rap and hip-hop artists this industry has to offer.
It’s all about one simple goal, to enhance their legacy. To continue to remain relevant in an ever changing industry and they have so far proven more than capable of changing with the times but never compromising who and what they are and what they stand for. The roots of the band remain in their fiery energetic delivery and heartfelt and passionate lyrics.
This one feels like a shout out to their past, at least instrumentally. It’s full of pounding drums and soaring guitars and a vocal delivery which is full of vigour and aggression. But it’s theme and lyrics are what make it stand out from their previous work, this can only be a good thing for the band as admittedly the band have sang about the confusion and difficulties of being young and full of passion. This latest effort feels like we have met a weather weary group, three twenty-somethings that have been beaten down a little by circumstance, but still full of passion and belief that despite what they have seen, they can rise up once more and stand tall and be counted.
It's theme is about being locked away and forced to conform to the norms of life. It plays with themes of being psychos, killers, monsters and maniacs. But those terms are merely there to enhance the feeling that life has changed these once normal people and has beaten them down. They are using an Asylum imagery to sing about common feelings of being trapped and muted and forced to conform. Take the line, “They say we need to be locked away, because we’re a danger to ourselves.”, you can interpret that any which way you would like. And that’s where the songs strength lies, anybody can make it relatable despite it’s very particular imagery.
It's a positive start for the band, creating a song that feels a quite different to what we’ve heard from them before. Let’s hope this trend can continue and they will step up once more.”
LYRICS;“Everyone I know has fallen through the cracks
All my friends have turned to psychos, killers, monsters and maniacs
They say time can heal most wounds
But some wounds just don’t heal so easily with time
And sometimes you need to go insane
Sometimes you need to go out of your mind
And maybe this is just our time
Maybe this is our time
Welcome to the asylum
You’re just like the rest of us
Don’t put up a fight, don’t make a fuss
Welcome to the asylum
You’re just like the rest of us
Don’t you dare kick and scream
Please don’t make a fuss
There’s room here for all of us
Room here for all of us
They say we need to be locked away, because we’re a danger to ourselves
We need to be contained by steel for the good of our own health
So tie our hands behind our backs
Call us all maniacs
But when we break free, we won’t look back
We won’t look back
We’ve seen heroes come and go
But little do they know
If they just glanced closer to what we are
They’d see past the scars and they’d see the stars
So you can lock us all away
And hide us from the world tonight
But we will prove the fire inside
We will show the desire
Welcome to the asylum
You’re just like the rest of us
Don’t put up a fight, don’t make a fuss
Welcome to the asylum
You’re just like the rest of us
Don’t you dare kick and scream
Please don’t make a fuss
There’s room here for all of us
Room here for all of us”
PERSONNEL;Amy Meyer - lead vocals, piano, lyrics, composition, production
Adam Benjamin - rhythm guitar, lead guitar, keyboards, backing vocals, lyrics, composition, production
Jason Greenberg - bass guitar, lyrics, composition, production
Billie Langdon - drums, percussion
Cara Zayn – production, mixing, engineering
