Royel Otis’ ‘hickey’: The perfect soundtrack for summer

Royel Otis create the musical equivalent of summer. With catchy guitar riffs and vocal hooks, each tune provides the perfect soundtrack for summer parties and coastal drives with the windows down on a warm summer’s day.

The indie-pop duo, composed of guitarist Royel Maddell and vocalist Otis Pavlovic, met in their hometown of Bondi, Australia, and have been jamming together ever since. Since forming officially in 2019, they have cemented themselves in the guitar-pop scene as ‘ones to watch’. Last year, they were the recipient of four ARIA Awards, including Best Rock Album and Best Group.

The Australian duo found fame after releasing ‘Oysters in my Pocket’ in 2022 and ‘Sofa King’ the following year. Although it wasn’t until last year that the boys went viral after the release of their cover of Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s ‘Murder on the Dancefloor’, recorded for triple J’s Like a Version. There was so much demand that the indie-pop band had to release their version of Ellis-Bextor’s hit song as a single, which has now reached over 70 million streams on Spotify.

Following this, the Australian locals reached internet and chart success with their cover of The Cranberries’ ‘Linger’. Although going viral for releasing covers may seem like a two-edged sword, Royel Otis are now determined to reach the same level of success with their newest album.

This summer, the indie-pop sensation has been touring across the world, playing at every festival worth attending in the lead-up to their latest release, their sophomore album, hickey.

The catchy chorus is bound to float around in your brain long after you’ve pressed pause

hickey opens with the Royel Otis trademark sound of catchy guitar riffs and hooks as ‘I hate this tune’ begins to play, before swiftly moving onto the countdown, which introduces lead single ‘moody’.

It’s obvious why this song was chosen to be released before the indie-pop duo hit festival season: ‘moody’ is the perfect festival crowd pleaser. Pavlovic’s layered vocals during the chorus give the ideal sing-along chorus, while Maddell’s guitar riffs are perfect for any festivalgoers to dance to.

Fellow single, ‘car’, was crafted following the same recipe used to create ‘Sofa King’ and ‘Oysters in My Pocket’. The catchy chorus is bound to float around in your brain long after you’ve pressed pause.

“Yeah, I’ll meet you at the car on the corner / But you’re never gonna change my mind,” sings Pavlovic.

The dreamy pop sound of ‘good times’ and ‘come on home’ gives a sense of ’80s nostalgia. This is also echoed in ‘torn jeans’; however, the groovy-sounding instrumentation is somewhat reminiscent of Childish Gambino’s ‘Redbone’.

The tone shifts with ‘say something’. Although the track follows suit in terms of the instrumentation, the lyricism changes to express frustration at a partner who struggles to communicate what they want: “Not enough time/ Not enough time/ Never enough.”

The boys could branch out and experiment slightly with their signature sound

Despite the catchy and danceable nature of the tracks, as we reach the latter half of the album, with ‘dancing with myself’ and ‘she’s got a gun’, as a listener, I can’t help but want more from the Australian duo.

Even though each track is well produced and makes for easy listening, the boys could branch out and experiment slightly with their signature sound. ‘more to lose’ attempts this, opening with a piano and acoustic guitar to create a more stripped-back instrumentation. However, as the song builds, it blends to become a typical Royel Otis track.

That being said, the tempo slows down and the instrumentation strips back for the final song on the album, ‘jazz burger’. The closing track doesn’t hold the dance feel of the previous twelve songs, and it’s a welcome change. Lyrically, the song also suits the final position in the track list order, with lines such as “maybe it’s time to leave/ maybe it’s time to fade out”.

Indeed, this final song may be a sign of a change to come in Royel Otis’ discography.

hickey is bound to be a success with Royel Otis’ fans as they have stuck true to their trademark guitar-pop sound. Although it would be interesting to see the Australian pop duo become more experimental in songs to come, hickey has produced some upcoming staples to the summer playlist.

Recommended Listening: ‘moody’, ‘jazz burger’

★★★★

Listen to hickey here: