Ahead of the release of The Royston Club‘s second album, Songs For The Spine, Isabella Hayden reviewed the brilliant new LP.
Since the release of their 2023 album, Shaking Hips and Crashing Cars, Liverpool-based The Royston Club have very quickly become known as one of the most promising bands in the UK.
From headlining their own tours and playing almost every popular UK festival at some point, the group originally from Wrexham have grown a dedicated fanbase who have been – not so patiently – waiting for their newest album, Songs For The Spine.
While the album maintains their usual bright melodies and thrilling vocals, we see the group reaching into a new realm of powerful guitar that sounds less polished yet still as confident.
Astonishing single The Patch Where Nothing Grows was the first release from the album and it is easy to see why the band wanted us to hear this one before any other.
Intertwining a blazing guitar solo and roaring drum patterns, the track reaches a louder level then we’ve ever seen in their discography.
Offering a taste of their more vulnerable side tracks like Cariad, which means ‘darling’ in Welsh, and Spinning are infused with heartfelt lyrics, echoing some of their past releases like Cherophobe and Infatuated.
While showcasing acoustic guitar, Cariad still weaves harrowing riffs into the chorus where Tom Faithfull’s vivid vocals authenticate the mental wound he describes being left with after a breakup.
Guitarist and lead songwriter Ben Matthias said: “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.
“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.”
On the second half of the album, 30-20 and Through The Cracks are bursting with light, summery guitar which makes them feel nostalgic. With an upbeat vibe crafted for the stage, they are reminiscent of their last albums’ biggest tracks 52 and I’m a Liar.
Haunting guitar opens the final track, The Ballad Of Glen Campbell, with gut-wrenching riffs that could be mistaken for something from a Radiohead album.
Faithfull’s vocals are sincere and grieving while the music stays ethereal, easily the sort of song that would play in a movie soundtrack.
Mid-way through the six-minute track, peaceful piano begins and everything feels quiet for a moment. This doesn’t last long, though, and in true Royston Club style you are hit with an explosion of vibrant bass lines and bold guitar.
Header Photo: Sam Crowston
Track listing:
Shivers
The Patch Where Nothing Grows
Crowbar
Glued To The Bed
Cariad
30-20
Spinning
Through The Cracks
Curses & Spit
The Ballad Of Glen Campbell
You can follow The Royston Club here and listen to Songs For The Spine from August 8 here.
Mersey Music 