Riley Max

Riley Max's second full-length album, What It Takes, has been released! Preceded by the acclaimed singles and videos Pockets and Year 1 in the months leading up to the album's release, Riley again shows she's a multimedia creative force for the next generation of singer/songwriters. Her first album ROY G BIV (with its video singles Blue and Yellow that became featured entertainment on international flights worldwide) was released as a senior in high school; now it’s her senior year in college, and What It Takes rather fearlessly documents her experience during that time.

The 14-track folk rock / indie pop album includes themes of navigating change, dealing with mental health issues, the dissolution of friendships, finding love, connection and more. What It Takes is raw, honest, authentic and depply personal. The music was written and recorded in dorm rooms, college studios, Riley's own family home and more, representing a variety of locations and inspirations.

“Singer/songwriter Riley Max's music enchants with coy folk-inspired character and instantly catchy hooks.”
– Atwood Magazine

“Riley Max finds something beautiful in the questions, turning the uncertainty of becoming into an honest and relatable musical portrait.”
– Earmilk

“Heartfelt, transformative and important.”
– We Found New Music

Here’s the album What It Takes in Riley's own words:

“When I listen to What It Takes… I really feel the joy I get in making new music and art. It’s a bit of a college time capsule to me, representing a bunch of things that have happened in the last several years. This album represents both the inspiration of various physical recording spaces I’ve worked in — Reach Studios in Colorado, Harvard’s studio and my dorm room on the East Coast, Stanford’s studio on the West Coast where I spend part of my summers — and the collection of styles and features I’ve learned from people I’ve met and been influenced by in doing so. This second album is me being honest about me in the real world.

I’d left my childhood home and had some experiences, both positive and negative. Whenever I did, I’d just write a song about them. Sometimes I’d even literally record them in my dorm immediately on my little portable studio. Both Owe Me and Flat On My Floor are 100% me doing that. Whether they were dorm demos or fully fledged recordings from the Stanford Recording Arts Workshop I help teach or the Harvard courses and studio I’ve been working in… They were all on my portable production hard drive I take everywhere with me.***

What It Takes is a very exploratory album for me, because many of the songs were sort of written on the spot and even recorded that way, on inspiration, being in the moment with these people and saying we’re just gonna record. Plastic Table was literally written and recorded in one night with two Harvard performing arts friends who came to hang out with me at the Stanford studio for the evening. It was immediately like old times on the other coast. So even though What It Takes took far longer to record than my previous album, it was also more spontaneous and in the moment. On a lot of them, I decided not to re-record the vocals, even if I just did them in my dorm room, because I felt they reflected what I wanted to say. It was really important to me to preserve that spontaneity.

When I listen to this album, I get more emotionally nostalgic intense memories. I remember exactly when I wrote these songs, and that’s something I’m proud of, because I wanted to get better at writing about myself and actually putting myself on the page, not just put these characters on the page. It does feel like, when I look back and listen to this album, I am looking back on real moments from my life, and not just moments that I’ve concocted.

I hope it means something to others as well!”

Riley Max is available for interviews and podcasts, like this one for Indie Sound Magazine, all the while starring in an award-winning play, directing the Harvard Veritones, and writing her Senior Thesis.