{"id":88608,"date":"2025-08-22T23:10:11","date_gmt":"2025-08-22T23:10:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/88608\/"},"modified":"2025-08-22T23:10:11","modified_gmt":"2025-08-22T23:10:11","slug":"the-pressure-and-the-drive-is-really-good","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/88608\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cThe pressure and the drive is really good\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

When NME arrives at The Howl At The Moon, the east London pub is swarmed by an army of Royel Otis fans. Nearly 500 of them await this \u2018secret\u2019 show \u2013 officially announced the very same day \u2013 representing the force of nature that the gripping Sydney indie<\/a> rock<\/a> duo have recently become.<\/p>\n

As we bundle into this 150-capacity pub on a Monday night (June 23), a choice of two cocktails awaits: \u2018The Royel\u2019, advertised simply as a margarita, or \u2018The Otis\u2019 \u2013 a non-alcoholic paloma. \u201cTrain yourself up for that tequila journey,\u201d quips Royel Maddell the following day in a Shoreditch workspace, when we demand an explanation as to why our heads feel so sore.<\/p>\n

Despite drinking \u201cseveral\u201d himself, Maddell and his bandmate Otis Pavlovic are on top form, performing acoustic renditions of \u2018Car\u2019 and \u2018Going Kokomo\u2019. Next, they head streetside to reward fans who couldn\u2019t get in with some more unplugged cuts, including their internet-breaking cover of The Cranberries<\/a>\u2019 \u2018Linger\u2019.<\/p>\n

\"royelRoyel Otis. Credit: Alex Wall<\/p>\n

Incredibly, \u2018Linger\u2019 has eclipsed the band\u2019s first viral cover<\/a> \u2013 Sophie Ellis-Bextor<\/a>\u2019s \u2018Murder On The Dancefloor\u2019 \u2013 with the combined one-two punch catapulting Royel Otis into one of the hottest guitar acts in the world. Sandwiched between the two was an appearance on NME\u2019s The Cover<\/a> in 2024 and their debut album \u2018Pratts & Pain\u2019<\/a>. Recorded in south London with famed producer Dan Carey (Wet Leg<\/a>, Fontaines D.C.<\/a>), it saw their sun-kissed indie sound take a slightly moodier twist.<\/p>\n

Having toured non-stop ever since, it was somewhat of a surprise when the duo announced their second album, \u2018Hickey\u2019, two months ago. \u201c[A hickey] doesn\u2019t stick,\u201d says Pavlovic, explaining the time capsule in which the album was written, where both were navigating breakups. \u201cIt\u2019ll last for a bit and you\u2019ll remember it, but that memory will fade,\u201d adds Maddell.<\/p>\n

Barely a year on from \u2018Pratts & Pain\u2019, their new record leans on their guitar-driven roots while incorporating more dazzling indie-pop sound palettes. But where on earth did they find the time? NME meets Madell and Pavlovic in London for some answers.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Did you ever consider returning to London for album two?<\/p>\n

Royel Maddell: \u201cWhen we were in the US at the start of 2024, we started working with Omer Fedi and Blake Slatkin, who [ended up producing] a few songs on \u2018Hickey\u2019. When it came to the time of creating the album, it was like, \u2018we\u2019ll do it in LA with them\u2019 \u2013 and some other people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Otis Pavlovic: \u201c\u2018Pratts & Pain\u2019 was a short trip. \u2018Hickey\u2019, we were there for four months, so we had to start a new life for a bit.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maddell: \u201cWe were working with such talented people, and they kept pushing us, because we were so burnt out from the massive year of touring \u2013 and straight into the studio. When we were feeling tired, they could sense it, and it gave us a booster shot.\u201d<\/p>\n

How did working with Blake and Omer compare to Dan Carey?<\/p>\n

Maddell: \u201cThey definitely have more of a pop sensibility.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pavlovic: \u201cThey\u2019re powerhouses. They have writing a hit in their mind.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maddell: \u201cWhereas Dan wants the opposite.\u201d<\/p>\n

You told us<\/a> your early material sounded \u201csunny and beachy\u201d, and that you can \u201chear south London\u201d in \u2018Pratts & Pain\u2019. What do you hear in this record?<\/p>\n

Pavlovic: \u201cIt\u2019s got elements of the [2022] \u2018Bar & Grill\u2019 and [2023] \u2018Sofa Kings\u2019 EPs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maddell: \u201cEvery city has a colour. London is a blue-ish grey, LA is an orangey yellow. The album\u2019s got a bit more of a summery, positive, party vibe to it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Does it suit you, going with the flow and travelling the world as you write albums?<\/p>\n

Pavlovic: \u201cEventually, we\u2019d like to live somewhere.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maddell: \u201cIt\u2019s amazing seeing all these different places and meeting so many people, but to actually stop somewhere and know that\u2019s your home? That\u2019s a nice thought.\u201d<\/p>\n

How did you manage to make \u2018Hickey\u2019 in such a busy period?<\/p>\n

Pavlovic: \u201cIt was the only time [we had] between touring.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maddell: \u201cWe would love to [have taken some time off first], but unfortunately, we don\u2019t have the choice.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"royelRoyel Otis. Credit: Zora Sicher<\/p>\n

How are you coping, mentally, with the pace of Royel Otis at the moment?<\/p>\n

Pavlovic: \u201cIt\u2019s a day-by-day thing, little steps\u2026 you come to terms with it, you get used to it \u2013 ish.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maddell: \u201cI think an album [per] year is cool. The pressure and the drive is really good. It might be taxing at the time, mentally and physically. In the long run, that\u2019s what I\u2019d prefer to do, rather than sitting on fucking nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Opener \u2018I Hate This Tune\u2019 feels like classic Royel Otis \u2013 how connected do you feel to the band\u2019s DNA?<\/p>\n

Pavlovic: \u201cWhen I found that song, I was like, \u2018That\u2019s the in-between song.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Maddell: \u201cEvery band that I love, I always like the first two albums. I think it\u2019s cool to keep the DNA. The only band that has done it right, from the start up until today, is Radiohead<\/a>. They\u2019ve done such a good job of manoeuvring different genres, and being cool as fuck the entire way through.<\/p>\n

Who has the perfect first two albums, then?<\/p>\n

Maddell: \u201cThose first two Kings Of Leon<\/a> albums are unbelievably phenomenal. The best [debut] album would be Bloc Party<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Why was \u2018Moody\u2019 the right song to introduce this new chapter?<\/p>\n

Pavlovic: \u201cI don\u2019t know if it felt right, [but] it was different enough\u2026 whatever you do, you\u2019ve just gotta back it. To a certain extent, it\u2019s about trusting your gut.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maddell: \u201cA lot of people assume that we make all the decisions because we\u2019re the faces of it\u2026 ironic, because I never show my face.\u201d<\/p>\n

Would you ever start showing your face in the future?<\/p>\n

Maddell: \u201cYeah, 100 per cent. It\u2019s easier in a lot of ways \u2013 music videos and photos \u2013 it doesn\u2019t matter if I\u2019ve got a pimple or anything, so I don\u2019t get self-conscious. It\u2019s stupid, because it\u2019s like, \u2018Oh, he doesn\u2019t want to be recognised.\u2019 It\u2019s not that, otherwise I wouldn\u2019t dye my hair fucking bright pink.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

There was some backlash<\/a> around the lyric \u201cmy girl\u2019s a bitch when she\u2019s moody\u201d being misogynistic. Have you had any conversations to reflect on that?<\/p>\n

Maddell: \u201cEven though it\u2019s Otis singing, it\u2019s a character [in a song that\u2019s] about being in a toxic relationship. There\u2019s no hero in that story, it\u2019s just an ugly situation. We didn\u2019t want to offend anyone.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pavlovic: \u201cWe live in a world where people can be very sensitive \u2013 which is good \u2013 but music is one of those things which I feel should always be an outlet, and there should be some sort of leeway, because it\u2019s not a personal thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018Who\u2019s Your Boyfriend\u2019 and \u2018Dancing With Myself\u2019 have some glorious pop sensibilities\u2026<\/p>\n

Pavlovic: \u201cThey\u2019re definitely nostalgic. \u2018Who\u2019s Your Boyfriend\u2019, instrumentally, reminds me of \u201980s new wave.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maddell: \u201cWe were trying to go for \u2018Love Will Tear Us Apart\u2019, but ended up with [The] 1975!\u201d<\/p>\n

Will there come a point where you want to distance yourselves from \u2018Linger\u2019 and \u2018Murder On The Dancefloor\u2019, or are you happy keeping them on the setlist \u2013 even at the expense of new material \u2013 for the foreseeable?<\/p>\n

Pavlovic: \u201cAt the moment, yes, because if I go to see a band, I wanna see the songs that [I know]. They\u2019re the ones that people want to hear, and if other ones take over, they can have the foot up.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maddell: \u201cIt\u2019s so hard, because \u2018Murder\u2026\u2019 gets everyone hyped and \u2018Linger\u2019 gets everyone singing along, which makes us feel better. It\u2019d be nice to not do them \u2013 not because we don\u2019t like the songs, but because they\u2019re not our songs, it feels like a cop out, sometimes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Have triple J or SiriusXM asked you to do another cover?<\/p>\n

Pavlovic: \u201cNo. We\u2019ve given them business for the next 20 years!\u201d<\/p>\n

Royel Otis\u2019 \u2018Hickey\u2019 is out now via Ourness\/Capitol Records.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When NME arrives at The Howl At The Moon, the east London pub is swarmed by an army…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":88609,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[64,63,134,1770,136],"class_list":["post-88608","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-entertainment","tag-indie","tag-music"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88608","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=88608"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88608\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/88609"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=88608"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=88608"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=88608"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}