I’ve been following the progress of Royel Otis for quite some time now, ever since they released ‘Oysters In My Pocket’ as a single in 2022. After slowly building up a base of indie-listening fans, the Australian duo – Royel Maddell and Otis Pavlovic – shot to fame six months ago with their funky and eclectic cover of Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s ‘Murder on the Dancefloor’, which in turn experienced a remarkable revival from the musical dead when it was used in director Emerald Fennell’s dark comedy Saltburn. Since then, Royel Otis have released the full-length album PRATTS & PAIN, embarked on their first world tour and enjoyed another wildly popular cover – this time ‘Linger’ by the Cranberries live at Sirius XM.
With all these projects, I was pleasantly surprised to find that they had somehow found the time to treat us to another single. According to Royel Otis, ‘Nack Nostalgia’ is “is about reminiscing on high school days… an easier time with fun filled nights” and is part of a larger collaboration: Bose x NME: C24 mixtape is “a diverse, genre-spanning collection of some of the world’s most-exciting rising artists” including Laufey, Artemas and Teddy Swims who have all been propelled into popularity of late. It seems clear that this format is meant to make the careers of young artists, offering them a way into the mainstream. I wonder if Royel Otis need such an aid – a gimmick, even – when they seem to be doing quite well with winning over the masses by themselves.
Knowing the context of the NME-produced mixtape, I was wary of looking for this flavour in ‘Nack Nostalgia’. My fears were put to rest: the track, though simple and unpretentious, is just as full of verve and soul as Royel Otis’ previous offerings. Pavlovic’s voice has a beautiful boyish realness to it and I was pleased to see this was not smoothened out in post-production. The guitar riff is catchy and groovy, compelling even the most casual listener to tap a foot in time to the easy, head-boppable rhythm.
The three verses repeat once over, chanted with melodic underpinning and as is characteristic of Royel Otis, the lyrics don’t make the most sense, in a sort of poetic teenage haze kind of way. The vibe of blurry, nostalgic emotion and memory blended together is best encapsulated in these lines: “I would go home if I wasn’t so fit / Had to climb a wall, neighbor got pissed / No, I never waste my time with it / Always sit and waste your time all day”.
The use of contradiction, colloquialism and lack of coherence sing with teenage bravado and vainglory, undercut by a sense of restlessness and discontent. It’s fun, relatable, charmingly fresh and a feeling of tired youthfulness and their ability to tap into the romance of this emotion is what makes Royel Otis so special and exciting for the future.
Words by Jui Zaveri
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