PREMIERE: ARMCHAIR RIOT take things up a notch on their new single ‘HYDRO’

20 September 2023 The Rockpit

Bunbury alternative rock group Armchair Riot have returned with refreshed energy, delivering a great hit of new music in ‘Hydro’.

After developing a strong band dynamic in 2019, Armchair Riot have continued to make music driven by passion for the sounds that built great musical foundations for bands like Queens of the Stone Age and Nirvana. With the release of ‘Hydro’, Armchair Riot poured these influences into a melting pot of new sounds that will easily impress fans of bands like Silversun Pickups, Cold War Kids and Broken Bells.

The release of ‘Hydro’ follows on from Armchair Riot’s 2022 track ‘Mad Dogs In The Midday Sun’, as well as ‘Crush’ and ‘Submission’ – music that peppered 2021, further establishing Armchair Riot as a band to watch. The progression of Armchair Riot since their initial jam sessions together in 2019 has already seen more than an album’s worth of material recorded.

“The song is a hard one to describe. Some parts come from an old structure that I discarded and kept the rhythm and chord progression. I rewrote the lyrics and melody so they felt relevant. I was coming from a relationship that was ending and ending badly and painfully and the song grew from a snapshot of a moment. I try to keep the lyrics as ambiguous as I can, but most of this song is open enough.” Glenn Breslin, Armchair Riot

As they navigated their way through the creative process, the vision for the type of music Armchair Riot wanted to produce became clearer. Initial recordings were shelved in order to chase the inspirations driving a more cohesive and layered sound – the first hint of which came with the release of ‘Submission’ in 2021. The track was recorded at Guitarist Jason Rechichi’s house, and mixed and mastered by Dr Alien Smith at Bergerk Studios (Amyl and The Sniffers, Coniglia, Nerve Quakes).

“The process can be glacially slow and other times so fast. This song was a quick one to learn and come up with everyone’s parts. Ian found his bass line and Paul with the driving beat. No click track was used so we could go with a feel. Jason got the song recorded and sat with it for a few days before he came up with his guitar parts. It was originally all Glenn on guitars and it sounded complete. So coming up with another part that complimented the melody and stayed true to the aesthetic mood of the song was super important. And I think he managed it.” Glenn Breslin, Armchair Riot

And now as the band anticipates a busy tail end of 2023 heading into summer, Armchair Riot is ready to let ‘Hydro’ lead the charge into an exciting new chapter.