One of the biggest hype of the last few months on the independent circuit features two Australian boys, Royel Maddell and Otis Pavlovic: taking inspiration from their respective first names, they composed a recognizable company name to use as a distinctive element. Over the course of three years they released a substantial sequence of singles, driving three EPs released on a rigorous annual basis: “Campus” (2021), “Bar & Grill” (2022) and “Sofa Kings” (2023). “Oysters In My Pocket”, contained in the second of these, quickly became their manifesto, as did the appreciated recent cover of “Murder On The Dancefloor”. Four further unreleased songs, released in recent weeks, have made the anticipation for the group's first real album grow even more.
“Pratts & Pain”, named after a London pub they used to frequent, where they often wrote down a few verses to include in their songs, confirms all the stylistic references scattered throughout the previous works. It won't be too difficult to distinguish their reverence towards the Cure (from the initial “Adored”), to the guitar intertwining typical of the Strokes (watch out for “Fried Rice”) and to some elements that distinguished the sound of the Velvet Underground, paid homage to duty in (but look…) “Velvet”, two minutes that take up the theme of “Waiting For The Man”, and in the enveloping spirals of “Molly”, which at the end closely resembles “Venus In Furs “.
But in the fifteen tracks of “Pratts & Pain” the soft yacht-rock elegance of “Foam” (very close to Phoenix) and “Sofa King” (already published in last year's EP) also intersects, evident nostalgia for the plots by Sonic Youth (“Daisy Chain”), already widely revealed through a “Dirty” t-shirt worn for a promotional photo, evident influences of the Clash (or the Libertines, you name it) expressed in “Big Ciggie”, the unconscious (?) proximity with the less shady Okkervil River (“Merry Mary Marry Me”), more certain guitars jangle lots of Smiths popping up everywhere.
Rearranging all these modules of the past, the two elaborate a personal synthesis of strongly guitar-based indie-rock, blessed by the productive hand of Dan Carey, intercepted after moving from Sydney to South London.
Having just finished a completely sold-out tour in Australia, from now until the end of the year the agenda is very tight: in addition to touring the length and breadth of the United States and Canada, Royel Otis will tackle two extensive leg European ones, one in the summer, the second already scheduled for next autumn, during which three stages are planned in Italian territory: in Genoa in July (Mojotic Festival), in Castelbuono in August (Ypsigrock) and in Milan (at Santeria) in November. In between there will be important forays into numerous important festivals, including Primavera Sound (in the double event in Barcelona and Porto), the Dutch Best Kept Secret, the Finnish Sideways, the French Midi.
05/13/2024
Daniel D`Amico for SANREMO.FM
