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Sydney’s
ROYEL OTIS
release sophomore EP
BAR N GRILL
BUY/STREAM HERE
Featuring new single & video
“MOTELS”
WATCH HERE
OUT NOW VIA OURNESS
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Praise for ROYEL OTIS:
“The chemistry they’ve got within the music is undeniable… Honestly, I think you’re gonna fall for it hook line and sinker, I did at the very first listen.”
– Jack Saunders, BBC Radio 1’s Indie Show
“[Without U] might be the strongest Breaking track I’ve played in quite some time.”
– Matt Wilkinson, Apple Music’s Beats 1
“Campus has arrived and is the perfect summer soundtrack to a post lockdown world: sweet, nostalgic lyrics dance playfully over infectious drums and great guitar riffs.”
– 10 Magazine
“…they’ve crafted an indie-leaning palette and youthful exuberance that is fit for your favourite coming-of-age dramas.”
– The Line of Best Fit
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Today, Sydney indie darlings Royel Otis release their long-awaited sophomore EP, Bar N Grill out now via OURNESS. As one of the country’s brightest rising acts to be added to the indie-set, Royel Otis are ready to share their follow-up short play. Lyrical explorations of life and love across six tracks muse on the highs, the lows and anything-but minuscule moments in between, creating a record rich in witty observations and enthralling tales of the everyday. Produced by Chris Collins (Skeggs, Middle Kids, Ruby Fields) and the duo themselves, a juxtaposition of crisp recordings, jangled guitars and garage-ready rawness stay true to the band’s DIY beginnings. The result is a record of piercing earworms, each layered with comforting harmonies and vocalist Otis’ relaxed drawl to become a must-listen for any fan of sunny-garage pop.
They say of the EP, “Bar N Grill was having a ‘run with whatever feels good’ attitude in the studio. Whatever will be, will be and we be happy with the outcome. A nostalgic stream of consciousness from loose and invincible times of ignorance.”
Opening Bar N Grill, is the first single, “Oysters In My Pocket” as a designated croon-along for balmy nights. The track’s dazzling guitars and emphatic vocal delivery saw it amass over 1.6 million Spotify streams and widespread acclaim upon release. Next up, the band’s most recent single “Motels” is a slower ode to a hidden love interest. It’s a carefree song, spun with intricate harmonies and rippling guitar strums that add to its blissful bittersweet mood. The single arrives today with another narrative-led music video to add to the guys’ collection, taking place in a motel setting where the arrival of an alluring guest soon takes a criminal turn for Roy and Otis.
Following on is previous single and one of triple j’s Most Played tracks, “Bull Breed”. It’s a hazy psych-pop hit that reinforced the band’s return as a formidable emerging group in Australian music, with its jangled chords, warbling synth line and vocal hooks that underpin the song’s feel-good chorus. Next, “Right Behind You” is a slowed-down and swaggered DIY pop hymn, complete with a strum of acoustic guitars, double-backed vocals and crashing drums.
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A punchy drum machine opens the fourth track, “Egg Beater”. A clever mechanic, the band pits the introspective and melancholic croons of Otis against a harmonious set of glassy guitar lines and anthemic chorus riffs, muscling their way through the heartache with a love-lost heater. Final track, “Warm Nights” employs a funk-riddled bassline and flurry of flute-like synths atop a thudding beat to end the EP – a bliss-worthy track with plenty of singalong potential.
In 2021 the band released their debut EP Campus, which introduced Royel Otis as an Australian act to watch in its rising indie scene. Following a stint in New York, Royel met Otis after a hazy night out in a Sydney Bar. Otis, fresh out of high school, mustered up the courage to share some of the demos he had been working on in isolation, and an instantaneous creative click soon happened. Fusing Otis’ DIY productions with his own wonky samples he’d gathered during his time in the Big Apple, the two churned out tunes in Royel’s Sydney sunroom, slowly shaping their sound.
From their home studio beginnings honing and tinkering at a sound now so distinctively their own, Royel Otis has evolved to embrace a rapturous live show. Having recently completed a string of performances supporting The Rubens and Teenage Dads, the band will be backing things up on a huge Australian tour with Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers across August and September. Royel Otis have also just announced a debut UK and European tour which will see them hit five cities across the UK as well as Belgium, France and the Netherlands, before closing out the year at NYE on the Hill in Australia Don’t miss this sumptuous serving of guitar-pop from Royel Otis, as the talented songwriting duo release their infectious melodies and pared-back charisma via sophomore EP, Bar N Grill.
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BAR N GRILL
track list:
1. Oysters In My Pocket
2. Motels
3. Bull Breed
4. Right Behind You
5. Egg Beater
6. Warm Nights
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ROYEL OTIS
tour dates:
supporting TEEN JESUS and
THE JEAN TEASERS
Friday 19 August – Brightside, Brisbane QLD
Thursday 25 August – Unibar, Wollongong NSW
Friday 26 August – Crowbar, Sydney NSW
Sat 27 August – Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle NSW
Friday 2 September – Corner Hotel, Melbourne VIC
Saturday 3 September – Jive Bar, Adelaide SA
Saturday 10 September – Unibar, Hobart TAS
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BAR N GRILL
EU/UK tour
Saturday 15 October – Live at Leeds Festival, Leeds UK
Tuesday 18 October – Sebright Arms, London UK
Wednesday 19 October – Eagle Inn, Manchester UK
Thursday 20 October – The Attic, Glasgow UK
Saturday 22 October – TBC, Cardiff UK
Tuesday 25 October – Trix Cafe, Antwerp BE
Wednesday 26 October – 1999, Paris FR
Friday 28 October – London Calling, Amsterdam NL
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Follow ROYEL OTIS
Twitter – Instagram – Facebook – TikTok
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AMNPLIFY – DB
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Why start a music environment? The truth is I love music, I love writing, and I love life. I work with musicians every day, and I feel certain that I will be until they put me in the ground. I have been managing people in businesses of some sort for over thirty five years so along the way I have developed some “wisdom” from my regular and constant “observations”.
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