Royel Otis close out Bristol Sounds in style
Words & Photos: Ed Fry
★★★★★
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Australian indie pop-rock duo Royel Otis swapped Sydney harbour for Bristol’s harbourside as the headliners of Bristol Sounds’ fifth and final day of the festival. The packed crowd had been basking in the sun all afternoon, densely packed and buzzing with palpable excitement before Royel Otis even hit the stage.
Photo: Ed Fry
Before it was their time, they’d been joined by a couple of supports. The Covasettes opened the afternoon, showered by golden sunlight, adorned with sunglasses, and blasting through a set of jangly, pumping British indie-rock. Luvcat joined as the second support, her sultry Scouse vocal and stellar backing band bringing a slight mood change—her gothic noir aesthetic less at home on a sunny afternoon, but the crowd loved it all the same, her catchy melodies and theatrical style impossible not to adore.
Royel Otis finally hit the stage as the sun was setting behind them, transforming their backdrop into a hazy blue-hour sky. They hit the ground running, smashing through their first three songs after opening with ‘i hate this tune’ — huge energy, with Royel’s guitar playing getting the crowd going from minute one. The crowd certainly couldn’t hate this song.
The two members, Royel Maddell and Otis Pavlovic, had their classic surfer-grunge aesthetic: Royel’s long blonde hair and baggy clothes, Otis in a baggy hoody—hood up, of course, the chilly English summer proving too much for the Aussie. With surf-rock-inspired teal and orange guitars and colour-matched teal and orange mics, their aesthetic was on point.
The first half of their set was more raucous than I’d anticipated. Their chilled on-record sound was beefed up live, with tracks like ‘car’ and ‘moody’ benefitting from their punchy live sound. Further in, they shifted to quieter numbers, but the energy never dipped. At times, the whole sea of the crowd clapping along in unison.
The screen at the back of the stage repeatedly referenced songs and gave quaint instructions like “help us sing this one” for their cover of ‘Linger’—a moment that saw the entire crowd join in. Of course, they played their famous cover of The Cranberries, not only with crowd support, but this time joined by singer Abby Arbulu.
Both Royel and Otis were super energetic, their tracks crashing into heavy breakdowns, with Royel’s guitar solos cutting through loud enough to be heard all around the harbour, I’m sure. Plenty of tracks had great singalong moments, their surfy rock the perfect soundtrack for the evening.
Halfway through, Otis grabbed his acoustic guitar and the keys switched from synths to piano—a massive shift from the frantic start to the set but a welcome one to regain some energy. Three-quarters in, they launched into ‘motels’, its ending intense: a huge solo, tonnes of strobe lights, and haze. Their stripped-back staging never got too complex, the simple prompts on the back screens cueing us on when to dance, when to clap, and when to stop being the perfect accompaniment to their stripped-back raw sound.
‘You’re So Gorgeous’ was a particular favourite. The screens at the back read: “You’re f**cking gorgeous, Bristol” — agreed. In the haze and orange glow, the crowd looked incredible from wherever you stood.
Royel Otis love a cover. For the penultimate song of their main set, they chose ‘Murder on the Dancefloor’—this is the UK, it’s almost a national anthem. It was the high-energy dance tune you’d expect, with Otis going off-script and ad-libbing to great effect, really making the cover their own.
They ended their main set on the upbeat ‘Say Something’, the super-catchy chorus and high-energy drums enough to drain the last ebbs of energy from the Bristol crowd. But when they left the stage, no one budged. Everyone knew what might come next. After a little hubbub, Royel Otis returned for an encore.
Starting with the pounding drums, acoustic guitars, and fake cellos of ‘Sweet Hallelujah’, the Britpop chorus swept the crowd into a singalong, arms up in the smoky, chilled summer air. They finished with an incredible version of ‘Oysters in My Pocket’, the crowd dancing and singing along until the very last note.
Royel Otis — a perfect end to the festival.