{"id":2056,"date":"2025-10-08T10:04:22","date_gmt":"2025-10-08T14:04:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/arouseosu.com\/home\/?p=2056"},"modified":"2025-10-13T23:20:34","modified_gmt":"2025-10-14T03:20:34","slug":"review-royal-otis-hickey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/arouseosu.com\/home\/index.php\/2025\/10\/08\/review-royal-otis-hickey\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: Royel Otis – Hickey"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Just as summer was coming to an end, Australian indie-pop duo Royel Otis decided to bless our ears with their widely anticipated sophomore album, hickey,<\/em> which gave us a new insight into where they are creatively heading. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Royel Maddell and Otis Pavlovic (Royal Otis) jumped right into the indie scene in 2021. With their previous experience in songwriting and studio recording making their dynamic feel incredibly natural, their early singles gained some significant traction whilst also staying true to the core fundamentals of the indie-pop\/rock genre as we\u2019ve come to know it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some of their early hits that launched the duo\u2019s career into the spotlight included bangers like \u201cWithout U\u201d, \u201cBull Breed\u201d, \u201cMotels\u201d, and \u201cOysters In My Pocket\u201d\u2014 which is generally regarded as their most popular track. While these songs incorporate plenty of dream-pop elements, they certainly do not shy away from a more energetic and fast-paced approach. Royal Otis saw a steady rise in popularity as they released a string of new singles and EPs; but, their breakthrough came in early 2024 with their triple j Like A Version cover of \u201cMurder on the Dancefloor\u201d. Their momentum only grew with standout performances like their SiriusXM Session of \u201cLinger\u201d and \u201cHeading For The Door\u201d, causing a much wider audience to completely fall in love with Royel\u2019s gentle guitar work and Otis\u2019s captivating vocals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Around this time, I was lucky enough to see Royel Otis live at A&R Music Bar, where I stood close enough to finally catch a good look at Royel\u2019s beautiful face, which he usually likes to hide. This was right around the release of their first full-length LP, Pratts & Pain<\/em>. <\/em>So, naturally, the energy was electric. The set featured standout tracks like \u201cAdored\u201d, \u201cFoam\u201d, \u201cSofa King\u201d, and their first rendition of \u201cHeading For The Door\u201d. A few singles followed after this period, but 2025 marked the beginning of the buildup to their next major LP. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

hickey <\/em>is a bit tricky of an album to pin down fully. On the one hand, it showcases their growth as songwriters by diving into more raw and emotionally charged themes of young love. However, I\u2019ve noticed that this album tends to play it safe: sticking closely with conventional sounds and ideas of the genre as a whole. To the average listener, it would be very difficult to distinguish this from bands like Beach Fossils, Vampire Weekend, or Boyscott; but, I found many of the tracks on Pratts & Pain <\/em>to be creative and refreshing takes on the genre, so arriving at this conclusion feels a bit disappointing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That being said, I completely fell in love with this album on my first listen. It\u2019s safe to say that Royel Otis knows how to craft a catchy tune that, at any given moment, will make you feel like you\u2019re living in the height of summer. I love how effectively these lyrics capture the messy themes and complexities of young love. The opening track, \u201cI Hate This Tune\u201d, explores the pain and insecurities that linger on from heartbreak. \u201cSay Something\u201d and \u201cCome On Home\u201d share a similar tone, particularly in how they capture the uncertainty and emotional tension of being in a rocky relationship. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It feels like they\u2019re aiming to capture these universal aspects without making it too personal, which I think was a smart choice, though it delivers mixed results. For instance, the duo sparked some controversy with the album\u2019s second track, \u201cMoody\u201d, which has been criticized for leaning on sexist stereotypes of women being irrational\u2014 particularly with the line, \u201cmy girl\u2019s a bitch when she\u2019s moody\u201d. <\/em>While these criticisms are valid, it seems like the intent of this song was to highlight the negative traits of relationships rather than make light of the situation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWho\u2019s Your Boyfriend\u201d takes a similar approach, presenting the perspective of an anxious, insecure guy who believes he could treat a girl better than her boyfriend. The music video for this song features Lola Tung, star of The Summer I Turned Pretty<\/em>, playing the girl, with Otis portraying the boyfriend in question. The sound and production of this song draw heavily from The Cure, particularly echoing the style of Just Like Heaven<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following this are standout tracks, like \u201cCar\u201d, \u201cDancing With Myself\u201d, and \u201cShe\u2019s Got A Gun\u201d, each using distinct imagery to explore themes of breaking free from relationships, personal growth, independence, denial, and unpredictable damage that can result from love. \u201cDancing With Myself\u201d pairs deep, raw lyricism with an upbeat, danceable tune\u2014 much like a heartbroken lover who attempts to find comfort and joy in their own company. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The final track of the album, \u201cJazz Burger\u201d, uses imagery to explore the raw desire and cravings that come from a relationship. Otis definitely comes off as more self-aware in this song, as he repeats, \u201cWhen I\u2019m gone, you\u2019ll come running back into my arms\u201d<\/em>. This is amplified by a softer, simpler sound, which I feel perfectly conveys the exhaustion of the narrator. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The title hickey <\/em>implies that Royel Otis is leaning into more daring and suggestive themes than they have in the past, which they ultimately succeed at. Many of the tracks and lyrics genuinely surprised me with how far the duo was willing to go in exploring raw, relatable emotions. While I enjoyed this album quite a bit, I can\u2019t help but feel like they might\u2019ve taken a step back in terms of their overall sound. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Indie-pop, like many genres, is oversaturated with artists that can draw listeners in, but often struggle to truly stand out. I say this out of love for artists like Men I Trust, Dayglow, Peach Pit, Mt. Joy, and other bands that fall into this category of music. Royel Otis has already established a signature style for themselves, which is ultimately what attracts me to this album. However, if this were their debut, I don\u2019t think I would have the same level of admiration for the band. Despite this, Royel Otis has added a very solid album to their discography, and you better believe I will continue to listen to it daily. I highly recommend giving this one a listen. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Runtime: <\/strong>13 songs – 38 minutes<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Genre<\/strong>: Alternative\/Indie Rock<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rating: <\/strong>7\/10<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Just as summer was coming to an end, Australian indie-pop duo Royel Otis decided to bless our ears with their widely anticipated sophomore album, hickey, which gave us a new insight into where they are creatively heading.  Royel Maddell and Otis Pavlovic (Royal Otis) jumped right into the indie scene in 2021. With their previous […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":2057,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[25,27,19],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/arouseosu.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2056"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/arouseosu.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/arouseosu.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/arouseosu.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/arouseosu.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2056"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/arouseosu.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2056\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2071,"href":"http:\/\/arouseosu.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2056\/revisions\/2071"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/arouseosu.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2057"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/arouseosu.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2056"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/arouseosu.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2056"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/arouseosu.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2056"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}