Royel Otis doesn’t do flashy gimmicks, make bold, brash statements or lay down anything that could be confused with cheese or syrup.

Nevertheless, their ascent has been rapid.

The Sydney duo of Royel Maddell and Otis Pavlovic went from a development project, to cracking the Billboard Hot 100, cleaning up at the ARIA Awards, and, more recently the top spot on a Billboard chart, doing so in bullet time.

On Friday, Aug. 22, the indie-pop duo put a smacker on us in the form of Hickey (via OURNESS / Capitol Records), the followup to their 2024 debut Pratts & Pain which cracked the top 10 on the ARIA Chart in their homeland, peaking at No. 10. It’s a collection that is, at times, dreamy with hints of psychedelic pop, nostalgic twists, and the stuff that gets parties started.

After the “rolle

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