After the release of their 2023 debut VOL.1, MOONRIIVR quietly kept moving—writing, refining, and allowing the project to grow at its own pace. They now return with “You Get Me By,” a tender new single that sits comfortably in the chest, built on restraint, empathy, and an unforced sense of familiarity. It’s the kind of song that invites you to slow down and listen closely, rewarding repeat plays with subtle emotional shifts rather than grand gestures.

Alongside the release, the band are offering fans a rare invitation into their creative process. Inspired by the Tascam 388 used to record the album, an interactive tape-machine widget allows listeners to manipulate elements of the track in real time—blurring the line between audience and engineer, and offering a glimpse into how MOONRIIVR shape their sound from the inside out.

You can try it out for yourself here:

With a new album on the way and an expanded live lineup taking shape, the project feels less like a return and more like a natural continuation—one built on trust, collaboration, and a shared sense of curiosity. We caught up with the band to talk about how MOONRIIVR came together, the sounds that guide them, and what’s next as they bring their music back to stages in Canada and beyond.

How did you all initially get together?

We played a few shows together with other projects over the years, and had made a plan to get together and try writing a couple songs. There was a chemistry that started to click, and a feeling that maybe this was something worth digging into. We started getting together once a week, working on a new song each time, and before long we had an album’s worth of songs that we really liked.

Your music has a powerful nostalgic, emotional feel; there are hints of French pop, Tindersticks, and Lambchop. And people don’t necessarily associate Toronto with country, or even ’50s rock and roll. How did this mash of sounds come together? Was it spontaneous during jam sessions or was there a specific aesthetic in mind?

After those first few sessions, we made each other playlists of stuff we found inspiring. The playlists were both littered with different genres from different eras. As we started working on more and more new music, we just gravitated towards those sounds and the emotions they inspired.

Tell us how you came up with the idea of the tape-machine engineering widget. It’s a great idea and very unique.

It was inspired by the Tascam 388 that we recorded the record on, and seeing as we both love creating new recordings, it felt like a fun way to allow other people to get under the hood of our music and interpret it the way they wanted to. It was spearheaded by our manager Jesse Northey, illustrated by Brandon Celi, and coded by Owen Hooper.

You now have a full-fledged backing band for your next album. How did you assemble the group, and what drew you to these particular players?

We are really lucky to get to play with so many different talented people. The city—and the country—have so much to offer musically, and it’s exciting to tap into that. The flip side is that everyone is so busy making music all the time, which means we have to be flexible. That’s allowed us to bring different musicians into the fold at different times in different cities. It’s been exciting to see how the different people involved on any given day shape the songs.