While working as a door-to-door salesperson in Philadelphia, Greenberg met co-worker and guitarist Tyler Asay, already a member of local band The Tisburys, and attended an open mic night he hosted where the two played together.
[11][12] Also in October, Riverby appeared on No Bad Words for the Coast Today, a covers compilation in tribute to Rilo Kiley's The Execution of All Things, alongside artists including Sad13, Mannequin Pussy, Adult Mom, Lisa Prank, Eric Slick, and Diet Cig.
[15] In early 2021, Riverby released a charity cover of "Walk Through The Fire" from the Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode "Once More, with Feeling"; proceeds were donated to the Coalition for Black Trans Economic Liberation.
[31] In August, the band appeared on A Monument To Commemorate Our Time, a Take This To Heart tribute to the Bright Eyes album Lifted, where they were featured alongside John-Allison Weiss, Dan Campbell, and Rat Tally, among others.
[34][35][37][38] They also joined The Fest 20 in Gainesville, Florida, headlined by Hot Water Music, Anti-Flag, The Flatliners, Samiam, The Bouncing Souls, and Piebald; Riverby performed alongside War on Women and Dog Party.
[42][43] They were also announced to play The Front Bottoms' Champagne Jam festival in December, alongside Joyce Manor, Soul Glo, Kevin Devine, Titus Andronicus, Prince Daddy & The Hyena, Emperor X, Tom May of The Menzingers, Shane Henderson of Valencia, Another Michael, Sweet Pill, and Slothrust.
[55][47][51] For their part, the band have cited influences including Hop Along, Mannequin Pussy, The 1975, Alanis Morissette, Liz Phair, Garbage, Modest Mouse, Fleetwood Mac, Indigo Girls, Barenaked Ladies, Paramore, Mayday Parade, All Time Low, My Chemical Romance, Third Eye Blind, Fall Out Boy, Yellowcard's "Ocean Avenue", and The Get Up Kids.
[2] Lead single "The Tell Tale Heart" features fuzz guitar and synthesizers a la Charly Bliss,[6] while "Out of Tune" is a slower and more spacious song with echoing xylophone and vocal harmonies.
[47][31] The record also features acoustic ballads like "Chapel", while final track "Imagine The Ending" is a seven-minute song with orchestral elements that, according to Adam Grundy of ChorusFM, " builds to a crescendo that would make Phoebe Bridgers proud.
[56][54][26][57] Another single, "Birth By Sleep", is a refutation of the Manic Pixie Dream Girl and nice guy tropes; Greenberg described the song as being about "how much of a shared experience it is for non-men to find themselves at the center of someone's fantasies and projection.
"[34][35] Elsewhere on the album, "Burn Yr House Down" uses Andrew Garfield's monologue from the film The Social Network to introduce a song about getting revenge on an ex-lover, while ballads like "Say It" and "Chapel" are more tender explorations of failed relationships.
[54][47] Andrea Quinn of Left of the Dial described closing track "Imagine The Ending" as "a real love song to community" and noted its use of enjambment and unexpected internal rhyme.
[8][9] On Instagram, the band shared a list of Black artists for fans to support,[58] posted educational resources on systemic racism and defunding the police,[59][60] and called for the resignation of Philadelphia mayor Jim Kenney, who had approved the use of CS gas to disperse peaceful protestors.
[62] In February 2022, responding to news of legislation directed at LGBT youth in Florida and Texas such as the Don't Say Gay bill, lead singer August Greenberg, who is openly non-binary and bisexual,[55] wrote on Twitter that "if i can throw my hat into the ring of any of these problems, i hope to god a kid somewhere who might be closeted or anything can listen to my shit and find joy with another queer person who is rooting for them always.