Photo Credit: Zora Sicher
Almost a year after playing at SWG3 in Glasgow’s West End Australian duo Otis Pavlovic and Royel Maddell are back in the city, this time at a far larger venue in the O2 Academy. The venue holds roughly two and a half thousand proving how far the band have come in the past year or so, they have been non-stop touring these past couple of years and this tour is to promote the Hickey album that was released back in August.
The UK tour support is transatlantic duo Still Blank that has Jordan Fleming all the way from Hawaii on vocals while Ben Kirkland is more local from Manchester. We were looking forward to hearing tracks from the new album Still Blank that was released only last week … but unfortunately any plans to see their set had a spanner thrown into the works after a media ticketing delay, we hope to catch them on tour at some point.
The toes were beginning to warm up as Royel Otis took to the stage to a massive cheer and the meet me in the car tour kicked off with I hate this tune from the new Hickey album. The screen behind the stage displays intermittent messages and video adding to the entertainment and showing that Australian bands always do this in their own unique way, the band have just been announced as support for Foo Fighters next year on a part of their tour and that shows how highly regarded they are. The next two tracks Adored and Heading For The Door are taken from the PRATTS AND PAIN album, they already have the crowd right behind them as Maddell shows off some great melodies on the guitar, the two other band members Tim Ayre (keyboards) and Tim Commandeur (drums) aren’t doing too badly either. Who’s Your Boyfriend is a personal favourite from the new album and it is a joy to hear live for the first time tonight, the Hickey album verges on heartbreak at times and this one is very touching as the crowd reaction proves. Up in the balcony we join in with the chorus for a track that is very hard-hitting, the video for Who’s Your Boyfriend also features American actress Lola Tung.
Kool Aid is the first of two from the Sofa Kings album and is one of the band’s biggest songs, it sounded so good tonight, the performance as a whole was just a joy from start to finish. Pavlovic and Maddell work so well on stage together and just make it look so easy, they did play over one hundred shows during 2024 so they have plenty of experience behind them now. “Show us your crooked teeth” reads the screen behind the stage as they play Foam while Come On Home is another of the ten from Hickey that is written around being homesick and keeps the energy levels high in the crowd. Shut Up and Jazz Burger are appreciated all round while the cover of Cranberries classic Linger has just about everyone joining in with a mass singalong that stands out as a major highlight from the night … everyone know this song. Pavlovic asks the crowd to dance with the person next to them during I Wanna Dance With You, there wasn’t much dancing going on up in the balcony but arm swaying will do!
Royel Maddell displays more jaw dropping guitar work during Bull Breed while Fried Rice has the lyrics move across the screen behind them that it is hard to keep up, the words “Glasgow you’re so fucking gorgeous” prompts a massive cheer during Sofa King. When Royel Otis played at the Reading Festival back in August they had Sophie Ellis-Bextor join them on stage for a cover of her song Murder On The Dancefloor. No Ellis-Bextor tonight but the crowd are belting the words back to the stage as the balcony finally sparks to life, this why some people came to this show tonight, it really is another takeaway moment from the show. Well to be honest the last two songs of the twenty-one are also special starting with Say Something, one that is very touching emotionally and is another crowd pleaser, everyone know what song hasn’t been played yet: Oyster In My Pocket sends the energy levels through the roof of a building that was once a cinema, the high ceiling reverberating the sound magically all across the academy. When we saw Royel Otis perform live for the first time at TRNSMT Festival 2023, Oyster In My Pocket was the song that made us big fans and we have enjoyed watching them rise through the indie-rock scene over the past couple of years. We now wonder what venue they will play the next time they are in ‘the dear green place’ that is Glasgow, the OVO Hydro would be a good choice. 10/10
Written by: Alan Brown
