Our obsession with RISE seems to grow with every listen, we last featured the band when they took us on a cinematic, nostalgic, high octane trip with the boundless single, Lost For Words, so when we found out that RISE were back with Hard To Leave You, we couldn’t wait to listen and share our experience.

Hard To Leave You opens with a cosmic synthscape and the lyrics, “Hard to leave you, harder still to stay, hard to deceive you and then turn and walk away…”. The opus expands with a pulsating drumscape with psychedelic guitars and a high emotional quotient. We always appreciate the instrumental mastery and raw emotion that transmutes with a RISE track and this is no exception.

The production is immersive and sublime and the message of the song is relatable, tapping into an era-expansive 80s, 90s and 2000s iconic alternative rock vibe.

In essence, Hard To Leave You explores the emotional conflict of a relationship that has reached a crossroads. RISE embraces the uncertainty that comes with deciding whether to stay or walk away. We could imagine Hard To Leave You being featured in an episode of One Tree Hill or The O.C., and there is no doubt that fans of The Killers, Editors, and Simple Minds would connect with what RISE are creating.

We adore how RISE continue to push their signature sound (and visual aesthetic!) forward with every release. stayMellow delivers an outstanding vocal performance as always, which is elevated by stacked harmonies. Brian Petch‘s guitar work and solo are transcendental and as the song reaches its final act, an epic synth-heavy outro intertwined with guitar takes over before gradually fading into a cerebral, meditative frequency, complete with subtle static and a cheeky little final riff. It’s genius.

Recorded at Whitewood Studios in Liverpool and produced by Rob Whiteley and Paul Kinley, Hard To Leave You perfectly encapsulates what makes RISE such a compelling force in modern rock music. Needless to say, we have added Hard To Leave You to our New Music Spotlight playlist, and our TIMELESS playlist, whilst we continue to stream RISE‘s ever-growing discography and eagerly anticipate what they deliver next.

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