City Riots

City Riots unleashed their EP Matchsticks in October 2011. Under the ears of Paul Woody Annison (Children Collide, Hunting Grounds), the four-piece delivered a five track EP that perfectly encapsulates the potential City Riots have always shown, creatively crossing paths between indie and pop, laced with glimpses of nostalgia from palpable influences. Lead single Matchsticks showcased the perfect, feel good video of the summer and soon hit the Top 40 video countdown on the screens of Channel [V].

Following a Triple J Unearthed Artist of the Year nomination and the single She Never Wants To Dance slamming across the Triple J and alternative radio airwaves, the band spent the majority of 2011 on the road supporting some of Australias best acts including British India, Ball Park Music, Papa vs. Pretty, Alpine and Gyroscope.

After performances at SXSW, CMJ, Great Escape Festival and Filter magazine festival, the band began work on their debut album. After a false start attempting to record the album in Chicago at the residence of Billy Corgan of the Smashing Pumpkins, City Riots decided to scrap these early recordings and start the album all over again. The band returned back to their hometown and a lengthy summer escape to the family shack along the banks of the River Murray in South Australia evolved into the ideal setting for City Riots to pen almost forty new tracks. Fascinated with soundscapes created by layered and intertwining guitar sounds, an aesthetic began to emerge that showcased a coming of age for the indie outfit. City Riots then made their way to the more civilised surroundings of Melbourne, where they spent all of April 2012 recording at Red Door Sounds under the ears of Paul Woody Annison (Children Collide, Hunting Grounds). After being engrossed in writing for months, the four-piece knew they wanted to create an album in its truest form a cohesive collection of songs with a sense of depth and space without being overdone, overplayed, overthought or overproduced. The band departed the studio with eleven songs that make up their debut LP SEA OF BRIGHT LIGHTS. 

Tracks like CATCH THE SUN take their signature jangly guitar lines to a new level, whilst first single WAIT FOR YOU and track TAKE YOU THERE deliver a dreamlike wave of reverb-drenched pop. Lead singer Rickys idiosyncratic breathy and characteristically smooth vocals are ever-present and shine on tracks CLOSER and BACK TO NORMAL. Tracks SUCKER PUNCH and LONELY HEARTS still maintain the elements of the hook laden indie pop sounds that they had established earlier on as a band.

City Riots released their dreamy, reverb drenched debut album Sea Of Bright Lights on October 26, 2012 to a slew of media acclaim, including taking out Drum Medias Album of the Week as well as scoring feature album on Radar Radio and snatching Album of the Year from Radio Adelaide, while the Brag called it One of the best releases of 2012.

The video for first single Wait For You was premiered on Channel [V] and the band was invited out on the road with the Living End as well as Atlas Genius and Jungle Giants.

The album soon cracked the top 100 US College radio charts and the band headed over to perform at CMJ in 2013 where they were named by active US publication this week in NY as CMJ band of the day.

SEA OF BRIGHT LIGHTS is out now in Australia and New Zealand through Inertia Music.

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Wait For You release digitally on July 27th, 2012.

SEA OF BRIGHT LIGHTS is out October 26th, 2012 in Australia and New Zealand through Inertia.

Listen to the debut album 'Sea Of Bright Lights' here... 
http://goo.gl/O0Hwt

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Album of the Week - RADAR RADIO 
Album of the Week - RADIO ADELAIDE 
Album of the Week - TRAXX RADIO 
Album of the Week - Kool Rock Radio (US) 
Best Local Release of 2012 - RADIO ADELAIDE

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"Kind of like a cranky, street-smart Bravery, only good." - NME

the result is a hook-laden, melodious album thats pretty damn impressive - ALBUM OF THE WEEK - DRUM MEDIA

A really impressive and ambitous opening statement from a band that looks like they have one very bright future ahead - INPRESS

choruses that sneak their way into your subconcious until youre humming them along involuntarily - 4.5/5 - SPUTNIK MUSIC (US)

The resulting album is the band in their best form - GROUPIE