The 2004 version was released to celebrate a year on the album chart and achieving double platinum sales.

[citation needed] Riverhead reached #1 on New Zealand's RIANZ charts and has sold over 49,000 copies, being certified Platinum three times.

Riverhead was largely recorded at a home studio in the rural settlement of Waiatarua, located in the Waitākere Ranges.

[4][1] Band member and producer Geoff Maddock said in 2012 that the recording location and its tendency to be "enveloped in mist" influenced the album's sound.

[4] Other influences included drummer Joel Wilton's desire to experiment with various metrical rhythms as well as Maddock's parents, whose interest in classical music inspired him to incorporate instruments such as the cello on the album.