“Over By The Rain” is the debut release by Royel JR., a duo hailing from the UK who make music that could be categorized as indie rock meets indie pop with gorgeous guitars and hooking instrumental build-ups.
It is clear what are the influences of the duo! From Tame Impala to Kaytranada and Washed Out, there is the same nature of sonority and also, incredibly, an equivalent level of quality. In a way, we forgot we are actually listening to a first release. The quality of the track is not only evident in the super hooking guitar elements but also in the emotional and epic vocals or in the retro-sounding elements that pour into the track. “Over By The Rain” grows quickly from what is an opening chorus to a mid-song chorus and then leaves space for an epic guitar-based melody that only finds equivalent in the back vocals that repeat the track’s name throughout. It ends strong, with the whole melody and lyrics already lingering inside our heads.
The track talks about a conflict and familiarity with the violence of love and finds in the clever reverbs the mix of nostalgia and mourning, pessimism and silver-lining. “Royel JR are not only imagining, but exploring a world wherein rebellion is not taboo. The lyrics carefully study the tenderness of sexuality, offering space to explore queerness, infidelity, addiction and self-acceptance“.
This is a solid debut that we like to call one of the best songs we’ve heard this year. A track that marks the beginning of a musical journey that started in a small Irish hospital and after a near-death experience by the vocalist and songwriter Roy Gilmartin. Together with Jacob Elias they are now composing their songs at an East London flat and being heavily inspired “by the sounds of the city; passing cars & working late nights in queer spaces“.