Royel Otis Pratts & Pain LP (Blue Vinyl)

After forming in 2019 and slowly drip-feeding music into the world during the pandemic, Royel Otis garnered fans in BBC Radio 6 Music, triple j and on US college radio. To date, they have amassed over 35 million streams, covered global playlists on Spotify and Apple Music, and headed out on a debut headline tour of the UK and Europe.

After releasing their first music in the form of 2021 EP Campus, the duo shared a further pair of EPs in 2022 — Bar & Grill and Sofa Kings — which slowly and carefully morphed their sound into new shapes, moving away from synths and towards guitars while keeping their signature and rare chemistry.

Pratts & Pain brings everything from the band's history together on a record that's reverent towards their beginnings but unafraid to push forwards into new sounds. This loose, open formula for what makes a Royel Otis song is written all over Pratts & Pain, an album defined by its sense of fun and adventure.

This warm, delightful debut is a rhythmic rush of guitar-pop: from MGMT-style psych flourishes to uber-breezy hooks...it's easy to imagine the band finally hitting the mainstream with this sublime debut.

Pratts & Pain is full of sugary sweet, woozy deliciousness.

Pop-inspired heartache that is both poetic, and unsettling...