Today, indie singer-songwriter Riley Pearce shares his sophomore album, ‘It’s Your Turn Now’. Featuring singles including Indefinitely, How Will I Know, Slow This Down, Only You, and Human, wrapped in the floating melodies, quietly introspective lyrics, and call for deep connection that have become synonymous with Pearce’s musical output, the record finds Riley reflecting on the sweeping changes and tiny intricacies that have shaped his life since the release of his debut album ‘The Water & The Rough’ in 2022. To celebrate the release, Riley will transform stages across the country throughout August.
‘It’s Your Turn Now’ is a deep exploration into the journey of entering parenthood and the many realisations, growth opportunities, challenges, and little moments of magic that it encompasses, as Riley reflects on his relationship to the whole process. Riley has always chronicled life’s major moments through his music, and now he examines the most significant season of his life yet. Originally started back in 2022 when he welcomed his first child into the world, the album – and the strength of its message – continued to grow, as he completed it soon after the birth of his second daughter at the end of last year. As much as he absorbed inspiration from the likes of Toledo, Day Wave, Flights, Dijon, and Jeff Tweedy, marriage and fatherhood made the deepest imprint on his creative process.
“Becoming a dad changed everything and really made me patient,” he shares. “This album documents my journey through arguably the biggest shift and upheaval of my life and how I processed it all. The highs, the lows, the grand picture, and the minutiae of it all. It’s the rawest and shell-less I’ve been in my songwriting and I wanted to reflect that in the production a lot of the time too. The album was produced and recorded in my backyard shed-turned-studio and that in itself was a deep end cannonball as much as the transition to parenthood felt like.”
While this life event is extremely personal, the way Riley approaches his songwriting – with openness, vulnerability, and honesty – ensures that these changes feel entirely universal, creating a record that listeners can connect their own life experiences to.
From the vocal call-and-response of Human capturing how much more enhanced your connection to the world becomes as a parent, the unconditional love of Forever, wrestling with the nostalgia of your former self on Youth, or the child-like perspective of Only You – growth and reflection stand as anchor points throughout the album’s eleven tracks.
So why, ‘It’s Your Turn Now’? For Riley, the message is simple. “As a solo singer-songwriter there’s a lot of self-focus and that doesn’t necessarily come naturally to me but it’s part of having to grow my career, promote my music, tour etc,” he shares. “In becoming a father, my mind and priorities had to shift focus and it was a big change in the reason I was doing things, what I was pushing for, who’s the new focus. My wife was starting a business at the same time too and I wanted to give her the chance to follow something she was passionate about in the same way I was lucky enough to do.”
To celebrate the album’s release, Riley has shared the lead track, Losing Light. Glimmering with delicate acoustic guitar and assuring lyrics amplified through his steady delivery, the track focuses on extending a hand to his significant other in the early days of new parenthood, as he promises, “I’ll be your eyes when you’re losing light.”
“You’re up all night tired and trying to figure out how looking after a baby works,” Riley sets the scene. “This song is about checking in with your partner and making sure they’re okay. You’re just trying to be as supportive as you can in that time and give that person what they need to be able to handle their day.”
Riley will take ‘It’s Your Turn Now’ to stages across Australia this August, stopping in Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, Perth, Margaret River, and Bunbury.
‘IT’S YOUR TURN NOW’ IS OUT NOW – LISTEN / STREAM HERE
RILEY PEARCE
ALBUM RELEASE TOUR
Thursday August 8 – Lefty’s Old Time Music Hall, Brisbane
Friday August 9 – Brunswick Ballroom, Melbourne
Saturday August 10 – The Great Club, Sydney
Sunday August 11 – The Grace Emily, Adelaide
Friday 23 August – The Rosemount, Perth
Saturday 24 August – The River, Margaret River
Sunday 25 August – Froth Craft Brewery, Bunbury
With thanks to Nettwerk Music Group
