Colorado-born singer-songwriter and multimedia artist Riley Max releases her new album What It Takes, a coming-of-age follow-up to her debut ROY G BIV, which she recorded at just 18 years old.
Now a rising senior at Harvard University studying Art, Film and Visual Studies, Max is also a cover artist and comic creator for the Harvard Independent. That visual background, plus her work as a composer, is the foundation of her undergraduate thesis this coming year, a fully animated short film.
Blending folk-pop with beautiful instrumentation, thoughtful lyrics and vivid storytelling, What It Takes captures the many changes that come with growing up. Across the album, Max navigates mental health, the complexities of friendship, finding love and the search for connection. Written and recorded in dorm rooms, college studios, her family home and beyond, the album captures a period of movement and growth.
“It was really important to me to preserve that spontaneity of things. 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. 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 putting these characters on the page.”
Riley Max
With What It Takes, Max shows her endless potential, creating an intimate portrait of growing up, changing and finding her place in the world.
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