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 Title: “You’re The Poison, I’m The Antidote”By: Riot! In The Boulevard From: Wild Young Things (2013) Release Date: November 2013 Length: 6:04 Format: CD Single, Digital Download, 7” Single, Weekly Airplay Recorded: July/August 2013 – Half-Moon Studios, Las Vegas, Nevada Genre: Pop-Punk, Alternative Rock Label: North Hill Records Written: July 2013 Writer(s): Amy Meyer Producer(s): Riot! In The Boulevard, Avil Hartman, Julian Morello “You’re The Poison, I’m The Antidote” is a single, written and recorded by the American alternative rock/pop-punk band ‘Riot! In The Boulevard’. It will mark the bands thirteenth single released since their breakthrough in early 2011 and their subsequent rise to stardom. The track is taken from their highly successful fourth studio album ‘Wild Young Things’ and will serve as the third single to be released from that album, with their previous two singles ‘To All Of The Names Written On The Inside Of My Arm’ and ‘We Are The Half-Moon Kids’ peaking at #1 and #3 respectively. It marks the return to promotional activity for the band, having not released a new single since July, the band had spent the following months hard at work, crafting what has been described as ‘their best record yet’ and ‘a glorious showing of youthful rebellion and teenage angst’, with this track in particular being one of the early fan-favourites. The song was written in July 2013, by lead singer ‘Amy Meyer’ at her New York City apartment, it was written during a brief break from their 93 date world tour which became one of the highest grossing tours of the year and the song came about in a moment of quiet contemplation by the flame-haired singer, “We were all started to feel really burned out by the tour, it happens during such long periods on the road. It’s like in marathons where they talk about hitting the wall, it’s very similar to that feeling, where you sort of know that you need to continue because there’s people out there relying on you, but inside you just wanna drop to the floor, your body wants to stop but your heart and your mind drive you to continue. The song comes from that feeling of people expecting certain things from me, I’m constantly battling with it, I want to be a role-model and someone that the kids can look up to and relate to, but when there’s also the people that just want you to fail and go away, thankfully those people are a lot more rare than the supportive people. But it still gets to you, when you’re giving it your all, you’re battling your way through a tough period and somebody has got something to say about how you did something wrong, or how you made a bad choice. This song comes from that frustration of certain unkind judgement that I’ve heard and it’s like my positive response to that.”She continued to talk about the songs positive elements stemming from her own upbringing, “I was always brought up in that positive mind space, I was born into a family that takes their religion and faith very importantly. Born into a family that always encouraged positivity and not being afraid to aim high and I think I took some of that influence from them into my own adult life. I’ve had my own struggles and I still have my own struggles but I’ve always believed that I’ll grow stronger as a result of that. I’ve lived by the ‘accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative’ motto throughout my life and anything that I’ve had to deal with and I think this song has elements of that within it, I mean the line ‘You’re the poison spitting out your venom and bile/I’m the antidote, pain relief with a smile’ is really just my own re-wording of that old phrase to an extent. It’s also pretty much my favourite lyric that I’ve ever written.”‘You’re The Poison, I’m The Antidote’ will become the third single released from their fourth studio album ‘Wild Young Things’, it has also become a highly-anticipated release by their fanbase as it’s been one of the longest periods without a new single released in the bands history. The track has been performed live on Riot!’s recent tour in Australia and New Zealand and was often left until later in the set which indicates the bands love and belief in the song, proven by such a positive reaction during the performances of the song. The release of this single also marks a change in pattern for the band, as in each of the previous years, the band have released four singles through January to December, this time around though, the release of this single will mark the fifth single to be released by the band within a year, whether this marks a more productive period for the band or not, will remain to be seen. The track was recorded between July and August at the bands very own ‘Half-Moon Studios’ located in their hometown of Las Vegas, Nevada with production from the entire band alongside Avil Hartman and Julian Morello. The single will be released in a number of formats which include, CD Single, Digital Download, 7” Single as well as through streaming sites such as Spotify, Soundcloud, Last.FM and YouTube. It will be distributed through North Hill Records on November 24, 2013. Alternative Press ReviewQuote:“Riot! In The Boulevard have evolved so much in the past three years but they also remain the same. It’s an absolute conundrum how they’ve managed to achieve this, when they burst onto the music scene at the 21st IMA’s it had become clear that they were gonna make their presence known, that iconic image of Amy Meyer speeding down the runway in those bright yellow jeans, microphone in hand and lips pressed together is one that will stay with Riot! fans for as long as they continue to love and worship this group of musicians. It was the performance that launched them, from the flawless delivery of their punchy pop-punk debut single ‘Sweet Little Fantasies’ to the absolute confidence and energy of the red-haired lead singer it made people gravitate towards them, most notably a teenage contingent that wanted something to believe in and Riot! In The Boulevard grasped onto their opportunity with both hands.
The enigma with the band is their evolution, their self-titled debut album will always be seen as a classic to their fans, it was a highly unpretentious record that revolved around catchy hooks and punchy anthemic pop-punk choruses, it was tailor made for a teenage audience, the leader of the pack ‘Amy Meyer’ had only recently turned 18 years old by the time the record was released and she quickly became a hero in the eyes of high school kids everywhere.
With their second release, ‘Cradle to the Grave’, the band expanded themselves a little more as musicians, the songs were less easily digestible than their debut but provided an avalanche of fan favourites that remain a standout of the bands live performances, it also moved the band from ‘star potential’ territory into ‘something special’, their rock roots never wavered with their second release but with their third album ‘Crossroads’ it saw the band move from upcoming rock champions into a huge music act, they had burst through the genre barrier and became just about one of the biggest acts in the music industry, Amy has in the past stated that ‘Crossroads’ is her least favourite release from the band and they may have lost some of their hardcore fanbase at least for a short time but in 2013 they came back firing.
‘Wild Young Things’ is the band’s masterpiece, the record was recorded over a gruelling seven month period, during breaks from a huge world tour the band spent time crafting what they wanted to be the best record they could ever make, it wasn’t about outdoing what they had done in the past, it wasn’t about winning back some hardcore fans that had lost interest, it was about creating the quintessential record about youth. It seems to blend everything that the band want to be, it has a huge rock base running throughout it, but mixes in elements of electronica and pop that serve to prove that Riot! aren’t just rock titans but are in fact industry titans now.
The third single, ‘You’re The Poison, I’m The Antidote’ is a quintessential Riot! track, opening up on a lead guitar and bass guitar combination and then joined by the powerful drumming of Nathan Mullen. The instrumental backdrop is fast-paced and punchy that divert those people in their early twenties back to their high school days of bands like ‘Fall Out Boy’, ‘Jimmy Eat World’ and ‘Panic! At The Disco’, the songs opening lyrics are whispered through the microphone by Amy Meyer, those that remember the song ‘Bodies’ by ‘Drowning Pool’ and the whispered refrain of “Let the bodies hit the floor/Let the bodies hit the floor.” which built up to a powerful eruption of that same phrase will perhaps hear a similarity to start with, of course that’s where the similarity ends though as the band instantly create another tailor made track for their young fanbase, the opening words to the second verse are about being true to yourself and not changing for anyone, perfect for those in high school and dealing with peer pressure and confusion.
Amy’s vocals throughout are just about as strong as they’ve ever been, if you’re more of a fan of the vocals she displayed on Riot!’s debut album then you’ll no doubt be happy to hear the similarly energetic, punchy and powerful vocal delivery, also the lyrics in this song are perhaps some of Riot!’s best, already you can picture those fan made images that you see on sites like Tumblr and Twitter displaying lyrics like (“You’re like a hurricane leaving behind you a trail of the dead/I’m the congregation, preaching words that go straight over your head.”) – (“Giving all that I have, just to keep breathing/It’s harder now that you’ve found me out, because inside I’m bleeding.”) – (“I may as well write a list/Of everything I’m bad at or lack/But I’m just me, I always will be/I’m ready to start fighting back”) but there is the standout, stated by Amy Meyer as her favourite line that she’s ever written, it is simple but so effective (“You’re the poison, spitting out your venom and bile/I’m the antidote, pain relief with a smile”).
Throughout the song, the combination of Amy and Justin seems to work as well as it ever has. All through the history of rock music, the combination between lead guitar and lead vocal has always been important, ‘Joe Perry and Steven Tyler’, ‘Jimmy Page and Robert Plant’, ‘Brian May and Freddie Mercury’, ‘Slash and Axl Rose’ and the list could go on for days, the point is that when Amy and Justin put their main attributes together, it creates something special like those combinations that have gone before them and when it works, it works really well, evident on this new single which could be their best yet, the band that have had their eyes on world domination from day one aren’t too far away from that now.
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 Lyrics“You don’t know me! you don’t know me! you don’t know me ... yet!
Eyes looking at me! eyes looking at me! eyes looking at me!
Secretly judging! secretly judging! secretly judging!
Whisper! whisper! whisper!
Ice queen! ice queen! ice queen!
Well here I am!
I’ll never be what you want, I won’t change just to make you happy
I will always be who I am, I couldn’t ever be somebody else
And I may be screwed up but that’s okay
And if that’s not enough then so be it
Because this is the real me
And I like it this way
You’re the poison spitting out your venom and bile
I’m the antidote, pain relief with a smile
You’re like a hurricane leaving behind you a trail of the dead
And I’m the congregation, preaching words that go straight over your head
I’m trying my hardest to change the world
Soul by soul and smile by smile
But for this world to be fixed it’s gonna take a little while
Congratulations, my flaws have been discovered
All of the things that I lack have now been uncovered
And giving all that I have
Just to keep breathing
But it’s harder now that you’ve found me out
Because inside I’m bleeding
Why can’t you just understand me
The way that I understand you
Why do you have to bring me down
Why do I go through all of this for someone as pointless as you
But listen up!
I’m not about to go changing
My life ain’t about to be turned around
I won’t start re-arranging
I am the person that I always see
The insecure image staring back at me
And I may as well write a list
Of everything that I’m bad at or lack
But I’m just me
And I always will be
I’m ready to start fighting back
I’ll never be what you want
I won’t change just to make you happy
I will always be who I am because I couldn’t ever be somebody else
And I may be screwed up but that’s okay
Because this is the real me
And I like it this way
You’re the poison spitting out your venom and bile
I’m the antidote, pain relief with a smile
You’re like a hurricane leaving behind you a trail of the dead
And I’m the congregation, preaching words that go straight over your head
I’m trying my hardest to change the world
Soul by broken soul and smile by crooked smile
But for this world to be fixed it’s gonna take a little while
Well here I am!
Ice queen! ice queen! ice queen!
Whisper! whisper! whisper!
Secretly judging! secretly judging! secretly judging!
Eyes looking at me! eyes looking at me! eyes looking at me!
You don’t know me! you don’t know me! you don’t know me … yet!”PersonnelAmy Meyer – lead vocals, lyrics, composition, production Adam Benjamin – rhythm guitar, backing vocals, composition, production Justin Mullen – lead guitar, composition, production Jason Greenberg – bass guitar, composition, production Nathan Mullen – drums, percussion, composition, production Avil Hartman – production, mixing Julian Morello – production, mixing, engineering |
