Growing up between Europe and Australia, local singer songwriter Riley Pearce’s undeniable desire to explore and discover always comes through in his songwriting.
He’s now unveiling his new EP Outside The Lines a record inspired by a recent six month trip to Montana and a look at the world through a traveller’s eyes. This collection of seven songs sees the WA talent craft a incredibly mature and honest brand of songwriting.
To celebrate its release Pearce has kindly penned a track by track run down of the record which you can check out below along with the EP stream.
The record is available in store and digitally via MGM tomorrow February 19th, give it a spin an if you like what you’re hearing pop by Pearce’s Facebook page for more info.
Brave
I wrote Brave just as I was about to leave for a six-month stint overseas. It was in a way the first song of the trip so it somewhat fits to be the first track on the EP. The trip meant I’d be torn away from someone I cared deeply about but at the same time I knew I had to get away from Perth.
I’m incredibly happy with how this track turned out, Andy (the producer) did an incredible job of helping to achieve the haunting, somber mood that I knew ‘Brave’ needed. The trumpets were also a necessary addition as soon as I heard Highasakite’s Like A Version… Couldn’t find a flugabone.
406
This track doesn’t really have a story. I just started to play it prior to Outside The Lines as it flowed really nicely into the song. It didn’t have a name until I had to get the songs mastered and 406 is the area code of Montana so I thought it too flowed nicely.
To me it reminds me of the peacefulness of the whole trip. In amongst the chaos of being somewhere new and meeting lots of new people there were always these times when I was alone and things were so still and I could sit and embrace the new surroundings, soaking everything in.
Outside The Lines
This is a classic “song about a girl “ type song. I rarely write songs about girls but whilst travelling I met someone that I was instantly taken to. She was always so lively and free and welcoming of everyone regardless of if they were “cool” or not.
She definitely made me want to live my life to the fullest and constantly push myself outside of my comfort zone. Even though I only got to spend a short amount of time with her, she had a massive impact on my thought process of what I look for in relationships and how I look at life.
Seasick
This song is probably the only one that doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with the trip. I wrote this song after chatting to a whole bunch of friends who kept making excuses for why their lives or careers weren’t moving in the direction they hoped it would.
It got me thinking that there are always going to be reasons for you not to do something or things that get in your way but if you can focus on the positives and not get too disheartened by those winds blowing you off course then you’ll eventually get there.
I remember playing this song to my housemate as soon as I’d written it and he said he loved it. Wasn’t sure if he was saying that just to get rid of me cause he had his own work to do or if he actually liked it but hey, it ended up on the EP.
Roskie
Roskie was the name of the building I stayed in whilst in Montana, I had a nice little window overlooking a spectacular tree and a sports field that was often covered by snow (see photo). A lot of these songs were written in that building… so I thought it deserved its own song.
The song is primarily about snow as it snows a ridiculous amount in Montana, took some getting used to for my Perth skin. It’s kind of a snapshot of the whole trip and I’ll always remember the amazing people I met and wondering at the time who I’ll stay friends with and who was just playing a part in this incredible chapter of my life.
The Long Road
This song has a lot of different elements to it and inner stories that comprise the overall theme of it. I should’ve (and probably will) write a dozen more songs about these topics.
In a nutshell ‘The Long Road’ is about the many internal and external conversations I had about following my music ambitions at a time when everyone else I know is heading into corporate jobs, rocking suits and making a lot better money than I seem to.
It somewhat bothered me to begin with but I honestly couldn’t think of anything worse than regretting not spending your youth following your passions or travelling the world to discover it’s many teachings.
Circles
Circle’s stemmed from a recurring spiral that I found myself in. I returned from Montana having a solid understanding of what I wanted from my music and how I was going to get there and make it all happen.
For the first time everything seemed clear, but I’d headed back to studies and work and that routine kept dragging me away from this vision and my music at times got less attention than it needed and that I wanted to give.
This ended up being one of my favourite tracks on the record and is always a reminder for me to take a step back and focus on the important things in my life.
Upcoming Tour Dates
Fri Feb 26th – Rosemount Hotel, Perth
Fri Mar 4 – Mar 6 – Nannup Music Festival, Nannup
Thur Mar 10 – Prince of Wales, Bunbury
Fri Mar 11 –The Monkey Bar, Mandurah
Wed Mar 30 -The Bearded Lady, Brisbane
Fri Apr 1st – The Newsagency, Sydney
Sun Apr 3 –The Workers Club, Melbourne
Tickets and info at www.rileypearce.com.au
