PRATTS & PAIN

“If I was stuck in the studio and needed lyrics, we would sit in the pub and have a beer,” Royel Otis singer-guitarist Otis Pavlovic tells Apple Music of Pratts & Payne, the pub he and Royel Maddell named their debut album after. “And it would kind of work itself out from there.” The pub was located in South London—don’t go looking for it, it doesn’t exist anymore—just around the corner from producer Dan Carey’s studio. Working with the man who’s helmed albums by Fontaines D.C., Wet Leg, and Foals was a by-product of the Sydney duo’s desire to experiment. “We’d always worked with the same people, so I think we wanted to see what it was like to work with someone else in a completely different environment,” says guitarist Maddell. “He’s a wizard. He’s so cool. He’s very intimidating, but he’s the sweetest intimidating guy in the world.” During three weeks of recording, Carey embellished Royel Otis’ loose-limbed, woozy indie pop with samples, loops, and synths, though never at the expense of the band’s musical DNA. Here, Maddell and Pavlovic take us through *PRATTS & PAIN*, track by track. **“Adored”** Otis Pavlovic: “Sonically, I think it\'s a good opener to the record. It\'s a bit fast and hard-ish. It just talks about self-care and promoting self-pleasure.” Royel Maddell: “Masturbation. It’s something you shouldn\'t be ashamed of.” **“Fried Rice”** RM: “It\'s about being at a party, but the party is an orgy that you didn\'t realize you were getting yourself into, and you want to leave with the one girl but they want to stay and really take it all in.” OP: “She wants multiple slices of the cake.” RM: “Is it based on experience? Yeah, there was a New Year\'s Eve party one time. There was a lot of inspiration drawn from that.” **“Foam”** RM: “That one just started with a bass riff. During COVID I bought a bass, \[and\] it was an exercise I was doing to get better and it ended up being a decent riff. And we built from there. And then I think one of us got a message that annoyed us. We were just like, ‘Are you fucking serious? Why is this person even talking about me right now?’ It’s a pretty aggressive song, but sung in a melodic way that\'s not aggressive.” OP: “If you read the lyrics you’d probably think this is a hectic song, but it doesn’t really come across that way.” **“Sonic Blue”** RM: “I was seeing a girl for a little bit, and she didn\'t drink, didn\'t do drugs. She had her head together and was really career-driven, while I was just a bit of a mess and being like, I’ve got to get my shit together. But it was making me depressed that I didn\'t have my shit together. It\'s a spiral.” **“Heading for the Door”** RM: “It was something we used to jam on quite a bit. I think we were even doing it for the first EP, but we just didn\'t quite get the vocal parts done. But that\'s about the realization that your relationship might be failing, and the nonsensical arguments that you have.” **“Velvet”** RM: “‘Velvet’ is like the entire evolution of a failing relationship.” OP: “Dan’s \[11-year-old\] nephew plays drums on it. We recorded it all live, pretty much.” RM: “He had a really bombastic way of playing. He was like a mini Ringo Starr. He was real cool and excited and hit hard.” **“IHYSM”** OP: “It talks about \[dating\] someone \[who’s\] too into it and then becomes a bit of a hassle.” RM: “Just being pestered by someone who won\'t leave you alone. Even the people you love can be so annoying.” OP: “It’s about feeling the weight of someone.” RM: “Feeling like they\'re putting too much pressure on you.” **“Molly”** RM: “We were doing all these sessions with all these different producers, just seeing if it gelled, and we met up with James Ford \[Arctic Monkeys\] and worked on this. And he had this crazy harp thing that we played with a bow to make that distressing string sound, and it became really dark. We didn\'t quite have it finished and we took it to Dan, and Dan showed us this instrument that he invented that could hit really crazy low notes, and we tried to make it as sinister as possible. It’s just kind of depressing.” **“Daisy Chain”** OP: “This \[came\] after we recorded the album with Dan. And we were like, maybe there\'s space for a more positive, uplifting song, so we recorded this in Byron and then sent it over to Dan and he mixed it and added a bunch of things.” RM: “We did it with Chris Collins. He\'s amazing.” **“Sofa King”** RM: “That\'s about feeling like you\'re not moving as fast as other people. People are having careers or buying a house or getting married—all that Disney shit—while you\'re just sitting on the couch, enjoying some Netflix.” **“Glory to Glory”** RM: “I think we got the name when we were in an Uber on the way to Dan’s studio. I think it was on a laundromat or something. I don\'t think it said ‘Glory to Glory,’ but it looked like it did. That was one we came up with in the morning before heading to the studio, and then we just had fun with it. Dan plays bass on it, and he\'s an amazing bass player. It’s my favorite track on the album. And I think that’s a lot to do with how it came out and how easy it happened.” **“Always Always”** OP: “That was one of the first ones we ever worked on together. Roy had a little sunroom where he’d set up his computer and recording stuff. But I think that’s about someone being away and not being near them. Like you’re living different lives, but you can still think about them a bit.” **“Big Ciggie”** RM: “I\'ve noticed that everyone says the same thing at funerals. And I just think you shouldn\'t shy away from saying something shit about someone at a funeral. Be honest. Not everyone\'s the greatest and the warmest and the kindest and most thoughtful. So at a funeral, be like, ‘They were shit, but they were endearing and I loved them the way they were.’ I think it\'s more important loving someone the way they are even though they\'ve got shit qualities, rather than just loving them only if they’re perfect.”

This warm, delightful debut is a rhythmic rush of guitar-pop: from MGMT-style psych flourishes to uber-breezy hooks

Royel Maddell and Otis Pavlovic are versed in isolating pop-inspired heartache. The Australian duo formed Royel Otis in 2019 and their mutual admiration