Riff Wood on Embracing Positivity and Evolving Beyond Pop-Punk on Their New Album ‘Butterfly In Black And White’

Utah-based trio Riff Wood has released their second studio album, Butterly In Black And White, showcasing a matured sound that builds upon their pop-punk foundations while exploring new musical territories. In a recent conversation with NME, the band discussed their artistic evolution, collaborations with industry legends, and commitment to spreading hope through their music.

The band members—Carson Groves, Hyrum Russon, and Shredder—originally drew inspiration from watching the Netflix series Julie and the Phantoms, but it was Green Day’s 1994 album Dookie that solidified their direction. “‘Basket Case’ was the song that got us all into rock music,” Groves reflected. “It felt so carefree, and seeing them perform live, they just looked like they were having the best time on stage.”

Russon noted how accessible Green Day’s sound was for newcomers: “We were still learning guitar, and Dookie wasn’t filled with complex shredding. It felt like something we could actually play ourselves.”

Shredder added that the album stood out from their usual rap and pop listening. “It was exciting because it was so different from everything else we were into at the time,” he said.

Over six years later, Riff Wood has evolved significantly. Their latest release features the album’s title derived from an unexpected moment—a milk spill that resembled a butterfly before a practice session. “In some cultures it signifies good luck, while others see it as misfortune,” explained Russon. “This whole album explores duality—the balance between positives and negatives.”

The record blends energetic guitar-driven tracks with more experimental elements, reflecting the band’s growth since their debut Tough Luck. “We’re always discovering new influences through concerts and albums, which pushes us to try different approaches,” Groves said.

Recently, the band cited seeing both Green Day and Paul McCartney as pivotal experiences. “Seeing McCartney perform songs from the ‘60s with audiences spanning generations was incredibly moving,” Groves shared. “There were 80-year-olds singing alongside teenagers—it showed how music connects people across time.”

“We’re so inspired by the Beatles and his solo work,” Groves continued. “Hearing those classic songs performed live made us realize how timeless great music truly is.”

The band recently embarked on their first international tour, playing outside the U.S. for the first time earlier this year. “It’s filled our brains with this drive to share our music with as many people as possible,” Groves said. “Not for fame, but because connecting with fans feels like such a beautiful experience.”

NME: ‘”Butterfly In Black And White” feels different from “Tough Luck.” How would you describe the evolution?’

Shredder: “A little different but more advanced. It feels more mature. It has the same Green Day-inspired roots as ‘Tough Luck’, but hopefully you can also hear that we’ve moved beyond doing just that.”

Groves: “We started just using different chord progressions, playing around with time signatures and writing about new topics. We just tried to be a little more creative in how the songs came about.”

Russon: “Our voices have obviously changed as we’ve gotten older too. If you look at old videos, we’re definitely trying to copycat Billie Joe Armstrong – but with his record, we’ve found our own voices, and we know who we are [as a band]. I don’t think we’re consciously doing anything to prove something to people, but I think this album naturally might do that.”

NME: Who influenced this record?

Russon: “Some of the songs were written two years ago, some are more recent. So it’s a mix of Green Day, Radiohead and The Beatles.”

Shredder: “The Police and Van Halen really inspired my drumming on this album, alongside Tré Cool and Travis Barker.”

Groves: “We just went and saw the Oasis documentary, Don’t Look Back In Anger. Just seeing how much their music still means to people was incredibly powerful, so we’ve been listening to all their albums recently.”

NME: This album was produced by Rob Cavallo, who’s behind Green Day’s Dookie and American Idiot as well as Paramore’s Brand New Eyes and My Chemical Romance’s The Black Parade. What was that experience like?

Russon: “Every time we go into the studio, we see the guitar that Billie used to record ‘Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life)’, Goo Goo Dolls used for ‘Iris’ and Paramore used for ‘The Only Exception’. It was so surreal and mind-blowing.”

Groves: “Rob’s the best at what he does. He’s always pushing us to get better and has ways of getting the best performance out of you, but being in the studio with him is more chill than I was expecting it to be. He taught us to be as genuine as we can be. If you do too many takes, a song loses its authenticity—and sometimes, imperfect is far more interesting.”

NME: There’s a sense of play across Butterfly In Black And White. How important is that to your creative process?

Russon: “It’s always been an instinctual thing for us. ‘Tough Luck’ was written before we had any fans, so we were just making the music that felt exciting for us. We continued that on this album.”

Groves: “We don’t feel like we have to meet anyone’s expectations either. At the end of the day, if the music is all fake and means nothing to you, then it’s probably going to mean nothing to anyone else.”

NME: What themes do you explore on the album?

Groves: “All these songs are either about something we were experiencing in our lives and needed to use music as an outlet for, or something we were observing in the world. Ultimately, the record is about finding hope, even when it feels like there might be none.”

NME: With everything feeling so negative these days, especially for young people, does spreading positivity feel urgent to you?

Russon: “100 per cent. A majority of people who listen to our music are the same age as us. We’re all going through similar things, and we are all going to have to take on this big world soon enough. We want to give hope to our generation.”

Groves: “Music is genuinely the most powerful, uniting thing around. There’s so much hate in the world right now and all these crazy things happening; it does feel very doom and gloom.

“But expressing that through music and trying to offer some positivity to people feels like a great way to help. It’s not a political record, but there is a message of ‘it’s all going to be OK’, and we should choose to have hope despite the bad things.”

NME: You formed during pop-punk’s TikTok resurgence, which quickly became more nostalgic than innovative. Do you feel part of a current scene?

Russon: “There are some awesome young bands around at the moment that we’ve become friends with: The Paradox, Trueblood, The Cherry Bombs, Willowake. But I do think a lot of people see it as a nostalgia thing.”

Groves: “It’s definitely nostalgic for people our parents’ age, but I do think a lot of the younger generations are gravitating towards that era of [‘90s and ‘00s] music because of how genuine and authentic it still feels. We’re discovering that [thanks to streaming] so it’s becoming our music too.”

Shredder: “It does feel like there’s this rebirth of rock [with our generation]. With the rise of AI, people just want something real now.”

Butterfly In Black And White is available now. Riff Wood will perform a series of UK in-store acoustic shows next week—tickets are available at their official website.

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