Pratts & Pain

Description

Effervescent indie anthems filled with nuance, Royel Otis’s debut record is warm and blissful, a rhythmic rush of guitar-pop: from MGMT-esque psychedelic flourishes to ultra-fresh hooks. There’s an unequivocal playfulness at the album’s core, while the rich, punchy production lends itself to the inherently social, psychedelically sun-drenched nature of the music. Pratts & Payne, the South London pub just around the corner from producer Dan Carey’s famed home studio, holds a storied place in Royel Otis lore. When recording their debut album with Carey in early 2023, the Australian duo – childhood friends Otis Pavlovic and Royel Maddell – would trek to the pub to finish lyrics and make decisions on musical direction. “Dan would be asking us to do vocals,” Royel recalls, “and we would say: ‘Give us half an hour, we’re going to Pratts & Payne’s’ and we would have a pint, a couple of bevs, and write some lyrics.” Ultimately, it stuck so much that they christened the record PRATTS & PAIN. Across this debut album, Royel Otis bounce between melodic, pop-inspired indie and psychedelic music, never staying in one lane for too long. As soon as one style or mood feels exhausted, they pull the handbrake and veer into a progressive oddity or dissonant noise, keeping everyone on their toes. Having laid the groundwork across two EPs, PRATTS & PAIN gathers all the elements of the band’s story across a record that respects its beginnings, but isn’t afraid to push forward with new sounds. This free-wheeling and open-ended formula of what makes a Royel Otis song rings true across PRATTS & PAIN, an album defined by its sense of fun and adventure.