Title: “Comeback Kids”
Artist: Riot! in the Boulevard
Album: “Young Cardinals” (2017)
Release Date: June 17, 2017
Length: 4:49
Format: CD Single, Digital Download, Weekly Airplay, 7” Single
Recorded: January 2017 - Village Studios - Los Angeles, California, USA
Genre: Alternative Rock, Pop-Punk, Acoustic
Label: Studio60 Records
Written: December 2016
Writer(s): Amy Meyer, Adam Benjamin, Jason Greenberg
Producer(s): Riot! in the Boulevard, Cara Zayn, Christian Fallon
“Comeback Kids” is a track written and recorded by the Las Vegas based pop-rock trio 'Riot! in the Boulevard', taken from their upcoming sixth studio album “Young Cardinals”, which is set to be released later this year. The release of “Comeback Kids” marks the fourth single released from the bands upcoming album and subsequent cycle, following on the heels of this years number two charting tracks, “Swinging for the Fences” and “Pop Culture x Hungry Vulture” and last years number one single, “Asylum”. It's a change of pace from the band as they have traditionally released the majority of their singles after the albums release but this time around it has been rumoured that the band have decided to have an ambitious single release schedule which will primarily happen before the album launch. With the release of this latest single, it marks the twenty-third single released in the bands history since their debut back in 2011, a remarkable achievement in itself considering the short attention span nature of the music industry in its current state.
According to a recent post from lead singer 'Amy Meyer', “In this crazy industry that we're a part of it's often so easy to just keep on going. In fact a lot of us are definitely encourage to just keep on going. I'm one of those people, but recently it has occurred to me that maybe that's not the best way to do this. As a musician you are creating a legacy and I think it's important for you to occasionally take a step back and look at what you have done and what you have achieved and take that time to appreciate it and enjoy the fruits of your labour. Take time off for a few months and I'm certain you will find a greater appreciation for what you've done. We've been in this industry for seven years and it's only now that I've started to pay attention to our history as a band and what we've achieved and this song is essentially that feeling written to the soft backbeat of acoustic guitars.
It was winter last year when we as a band went home for three months and re-connected with the people we love and the places that made us who we are and this was probably the longest period of being all back home together that we've had in seven years and during that time I looked back on all of our albums and magazine articles and tours and awards and all that kind of stuff that you take for granted in the moment and realized the magnitude of what we've done. I stalked fan accounts on Twitter and Instagram and read stories from our supporters and got a feel for what this band means to them and I found a re-invigorated love for this band and our music that I have to admit, I was starting to lose. Reading those stories and listening to our discography from beginning to end made me feel nostalgic for those early days and the feeling that we were taking on the world. As the years went on, it became less grandiose and epic to us, it was just what life had became for us and I despise the fact that we took those years after the first and second album for granted. I wrote this song with Adam and Jason after opening up about this and I was surprised to see that they had those same feelings. They hid it well because every familiar venue and every achievement always seemed to fill them with joy on the outside but I guess they hid it all pretty well. It's that familiar thing isn't it. It's a shame we don't realize we're in the good old days when we're in them. And that's a crazy thing to be saying at twenty-four years old but alas I don't think I'm the only one that feels this way. The point is, this song is a reminder to me to appreciate everything when it's here. Hopefully it will bring you all some sort of meaning and solace in some way.”
This track was written in December 2016, like a lot of songs from the upcoming album it was initially written during a period of downtime for the band as they headed back home and rekindled the love of the place that raised them. The track was written by Amy Meyer alongside both her bandmates Adam Benjamin and Jason Greenberg and was finished up rather quickly as the band headed into the studio early in the new year. Along with the rest of the album, this track was recorded at Village Studios in Los Angeles, California and was completed towards the end of January 2017 with production from Cara Zayn and Christian Fallon. The decision to release this track as the fourth single from the album was because of the lyrical theme of the song and the fact that it felt quite far from the ideas that they delivered on previous singles “Swinging for the Fences” and “Pop Culture x Hungry Vulture” where they sang about the challenges of the industry where this latest song sees the band look back on their career with a feeling of nostalgia and it's slower and more melancholic tone as opposed to the previous singles guitar and drum heavy musical backdrop. “Comeback Kids” will be distributed by Studio60 Records on June 17, 2017.
SONG DESCRIPTION;The song begins with the soft twang of an acoustic guitar and a tender drum beat heard in the background, it instantly signals the tone of the song with it's nostalgic feeling and it's melancholy vibes. It's sung in a tender and melodic way as Amy Meyer appears to bare her soul to anybody willing to listen to her woes as she sings, “These days it feels like my eyes are opening for the first time/I'm seeing everything from a brand new light/Just wondering if I didn't enjoy this enough when it was at it's height/Did time pass us by? Did we do alright?/Cause I've been touring for so long my memory has faded/Writing songs that made me feel elated/But I never took a moment/A moment to take everything all in and smile.” and it's evident that emotion and honesty will play a major part in this song as she looks back and hopefully opening listening to this song her fans will also do the same.
The pace of the music picks up a little as we arrive at the second verse, the drumming a little heavier and the arrival of the bass guitar to add a little more structure to the songs overall sound as a backdrop to Amy's tender vocals and words, she continues in a similar vein as she thinks about how quickly things took off for the band, “We were just kids that were handed the keys/Told that we could be everything that we ever wanted to be/And as time went on, it just became routine/Somewhere along the way/We lost part of who we were supposed to be.” and it's clear that she's been thinking in detail of all the things she and her bandmates have gone through ever since success hit them at such an early age. The media attention on seventeen year old pop-punk kids with emotions pouring out of every aspect of them, the departure of two bandmates and more devastatingly two best friends. From the fractured relationships to the intense attention.
As we arrive at the chorus, it feels like it's just Amy's voice alone. The music in the background is so feint that it's barely there and this is important to highlight the choruses meaning as Amy sings out, still tender but with more voice. “Come back kids/And take all of this in/Look at what you've done/Where do I begin/Come back kids/Take all of this in/Look at what you've done/Where do I begin.” and it clever plays on the words 'comeback' and 'come back'. In one sense, she is claiming that her band are the perennial comeback kids, taking knocks and getting back up and remaining triumphant and on the other aspect, she is longing for that feeling of excitement within the things that they're doing in the industry, encourage those kids that started out to 'come back'.
We follow the chorus with another verse that showcases her feelings and emotions regarding her bands legacy as she once more sings out with real and honest imagery, “We're the kids who chose not to grow up/Even when the path was long and the roads were rough/We learnt to cling onto hope/And believe in the magic/Even in the darkest times/When we learnt that life was so tragic.” and the takeaway from that verse is very much of a classic lyrical vibe from the band, in recent years not so much but the majority of their careers they have written some devastatingly truthful lyrics and have been the voices for their young and emotional fanbase.
Another chorus is followed by one final verse which centres around the feeling of pride at what they've achieved in their career, “ Now I see what we've done and it makes me proud/To hear those young hearts singing those songs back to us so loud/And to see what we've done and the places that we've seen/Is like somebody tore an entry from the diary of our wildest dream/And I just want to scream.” and with one final chorus, the song softly fades out.
LYRICS;“These days it feels like my eyes are opening for the first time
I'm seeing everything from a brand new light
Just wondering if I didn't enjoy this enough when it was at it's height
Did time pass us by? Did we do alright?
Cause I've been touring for so long my memory has faded
Writing songs that made me feel elated
But I never took a moment
A moment to take everything all in and smile
We were just kids that were handed the keys
Told that we could be everything that we ever wanted to be
And as time went on, it just became routine
Somewhere along the way
We lost part of who we were supposed to be
Come back kids
And take all of this in
Look at what you've done
Where do I begin
Come back kids
Take all of this in
Look at what you've done
Where do I begin
We’re the kids who chose not to grow up
Even when the path was long and the roads were rough
We learnt to cling onto hope
And believe in the magic
Even in the darkest times
When we learnt that life was so tragic
Come back kids
And take all of this in
Look at what you've done
Where do I begin
Come back kids
Take all of this in
Look at what you've done
Where do I begin
Now I see what we've done and it makes me proud
To hear those young hearts singing those songs back to us so loud
And to see what we've done and the places that we've seen
Is like somebody tore an entry from the diary of our wildest dream
And I just want to scream
Come back kids
And take all of this in
Look at what you've done
Where do I begin
Come back kids
Take all of this in
Look at what you've done
Where do I begin”
PERSONNEL;Amy Meyer – lead vocals, lyrics, composition, production
Adam Benjamin – acoustic guitar, backing vocals, lyrics, composition, production
Jason Greenberg – bass guitar, lyrics, composition, production
Billie Langdon – drums, percussion
Cara Zayn – production, mixing, engineering
Christian Fallon – production, mixing
SOUNDALIKE;Green Day - “Still Breathing”
