Wrexham quartet The Royston Club are set to step into the indie-rock Premier League with the August 8th release of their second album ‘Songs For The Spine’. With phenomenal ticket demand, significant pre-orders and growing streaming stats, the record is set to far surpass the #16 chart position achieved with their debut. What’s more, their shows are packed with a predominantly late teens / early twenties audience who know every lyric of every song. Now The Royston Club are set to bring a fresh wave of newcomers into their fanbase with the new single ‘Cariad’.
In contrast to their recent rambunctious singles, ‘Cariad’ presents a very different side to The Royston Club. Its quieter acoustic verses expose a tenderness and vulnerability, but its towering, slowburning hook has everything it takes to become their first crossover anthem. It also demonstrates the nuance of their lyrics, exploring the complex emotional intricacies within the relatable feeling of being crushed by a break-up. As with the rest of the upcoming album, ‘Cariad’ was produced by Rich Turvey (Blossoms, Rachel Chinouriri).
Guitarist and main songwriter Ben Matthias says, “‘Cariad’ was written very soon after a breakup, when I still believed I was in love with the girl and was struggling to come to terms with the relationship ending. I had an almost obsessive attachment to the memory of our time together and those memories seemed inescapable, constantly confronting me with what I had lost.
In the first half of the song I surrender the relationship to the past and ‘let the air run out’, letting it die. However the outro betrays this acceptance as I admit, ‘I still wake up with things to tell you’ and ask to feel her touch again, ‘just once again.’ It’s a song that, to me, encapsulates just how messy love, sex, memory, and self-worth can be.”
‘Cariad’ joins ‘The Patch Where Nothing Grows’, ‘Shivers’ and ‘Glued To The Bed’ in previewing the ‘Songs For The Spine’ album. The growing buzz around the band has included mounting acclaim, airplay including a Radio X playlist and support from Steve Lamacq at 6 Music, while pre-orders alone are set to match the entire first week sales of their debut.
The Blood Records zoetrope format of ‘Songs For The Spine’ sold-out its entire 500 copy pressing within an hour. Other formats including vinyl variants, CD and cassette can be pre-orderedHERE, while the band’s official store offers a signed print and a photo booklet with select products and album bundles.
The Royston Club’s summer touring continues with festival highlights including main stage sets at the Reading and Leeds Festivals plus a run of intimate record store dates. Their subsequent UK headline tour is already almost sold-out months in advance, with limited tickets for some shows still available HERE. Their shows are:
JULY
10th – Manchester, Castlefield Bowl (with Bloc Party)
11th – TRNSMT Festival
12th – Leeds, Millennium Square (with The Lathums)
19th – Llandudno, Venue Cymru Arena (with Travis)
25th – Latitude Festival
27th – Tramlines
AUGUST
2nd – Kendal Calling
5th – Nottingham, Rough Trade (intimate album release event – matinee – JUST ADDED)
5th – Nottingham, Rough Trade (intimate album release event – evening – SOLD OUT)
6th – Bristol Rough Trade (intimate album release event – matinee – JUST ADDED)
6th – Bristol Rough Trade (intimate album release event – evening – SOLD OUT)
8th – Liverpool, Jacaranda (intimate album release event – matinee – SOLD OUT)
8th – Liverpool, Jacaranda (album release event – evening – SOLD OUT)
12th – London, Rough Trade East (intimate album release event – matinee – JUST ADDED)
12th – London, Rough Trade East (intimate album release event – evening – SOLD OUT)
13th – Brighton, Resident (intimate album release event – SOLD OUT)
15th – Hardwick Calling
22nd – Reading Festival
23rd – Leeds Festival
24th — Rock En Seine
OCTOBER – HEADLINE TOUR
16th – Brighton, Concorde 2 (SOLD OUT)
17th – Bristol, Electric (SOLD OUT)
18th – Birmingham, O2 Institute (SOLD OUT)
23rd – Manchester, Academy 1 (SOLD OUT)
24th – Newcastle, O2 City Hall
25th – Glasgow, Barrowland Ballroom (FINAL TICKETS)
31st – London, O2 Forum Kentish Town (FINAL TICKETS)
NOVEMBER – HEADLINE TOUR
1st – Sheffield, Octagon (SOLD OUT)
15th – Paris, Supersonic Records
18th – Amsterdam, Paradiso Noord (Tolhuistuin)
19th – Cologne, Blue Shell
20th – Berlin, Maschinenhaus
22nd – Hamburg, Nochtspeicher