Royel Otis

The Arc of Royel Otis

The pivots — what forced Royel Otis to reinvent.

1. 01

   The Bondi Bedroom Tapes

   Before anyone outside Sydney cared, Maddell and Pavlovic cut their teeth trading sunny hooks through small indie imprints Ourness and House Anxiety. The 2021 debut EP Campus laid out their fundamental dynamic: shimmering jangle-pop rhythms paired with laid-back, sun-baked vocal melodies. Follow-up release Bar & Grill nudged them toward driving synth-pop flourishes on tracks like 'Oysters in My Pocket', proving they could write a radio single without breaking a sweat. It was pleasant, lightweight, and thoroughly stuck in the modern Australian indie bubble.

2. 02

   The Streatham Overhaul

   Everything tightened up when the duo flew to London to work with producer Dan Carey in his cluttered home setup. Teaming up with Carey pushed their 2023 EP Sofa Kings into punchier, nervous territory before yielding their 2024 full-length debut PRATTS & PAIN. The record took its name from the local pub near Carey's studio and traded breezy coastal escapism for sharp post-punk snap on cuts like 'Fried Rice'. It proved the duo could deliver abrasive, driving guitar records that didn't just fade into the background.

3. 03

   The Major Label Machine

   A massive surge in international attention following a viral radio cover pushed the band straight onto the radar of Capitol Records and universal distribution. Rather than retreating into cozy garage sounds, their 2025 follow-up album hickey embraced broader production gloss without completely sacrificing Maddell's razor-edged riffs. Singles like 'Moody' and 'Say Something' landed them on charts across Europe and the States, turning a pair of Sydney pub regulars into a genuine international touring commodity. They survived the leap from coastal hype to the big-budget machine with their songwriting chops intact.

Influences

• Sophie Ellis-Bextor — Their career-altering live session on Triple J's Like a Version was a direct, viral cover of her 2001 smash 'Murder on the Dance Floor'. Otis Pavlovic transposed her icy disco-pop phrasing into a gritty, scuffed-up slacker rock register that put their band on the global map. It exposed how heavily their melodic framework relies on early-2000s club hooks disguised as indie rock.
• The Cure — The band has cited Robert Smith's chiming guitar tone and brooding pop sensibilities across multiple interviews detailing their writing process. You can hear it directly in Royel Maddell's flange-drenched rhythm playing on 'Kool Aid' off the Sofa Kings EP. It's the primary DNA behind their ability to balance melancholy lyricism with infectious bounce.
• New Order — Maddell's driving post-punk guitar arrangements openly pull from the melodic high-register basslines and synth-hybrid rhythms Peter Hook and Bernard Sumner perfected. The propulsion on tracks like 'Going Kokomo' and 'Bull Breed' mirrors the relentless sequencer-meets-live-drums backbone of mid-80s Factory Records releases. They borrow the bounce without drowning in nostalgia.
• The Strokes — Pavlovic's detached, crooning vocal delivery and casual studio affectation trace directly back to Julian Casablancas's work on early-2000s New York records. That influence jumps right out on 'Heading for the Door' from PRATTS & PAIN, where deadpan verse dynamics collide with explosive, melodic choruses. It gives their Australian indie vibe a distinct touch of gritty urban cool.
• The Jam — Producer Dan Carey deliberately tapped into classic British mod-revival and new wave energy when shaping the duo's early full-length sessions in South London. Paul Weller's punchy, sharp R&B-inflected guitar chords ring through the snappy arrangements on PRATTS & PAIN. It stripped the lazy beach-rock groove out of their rhythm section and replaced it with urgent street-level bite.