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MP3: Royal Headache - Down The Lane

Totally thrilled on this hyper-melodic first taste from Royal Headache’s self-titled debut. These dudes have been one of the best things about Sydney’s resurgent DIY punk scene for a while, on the strength of a self-produced 7” and some pretty amazing live shows, and their album, produced by Mikey Young of Eddy Current Suppression Ring and Straight Arrows’ Owen Penglis, delivers on their early promise pretty comprehensively. There's a ‘60s pop hue to punk jams like Down The Lane, but they don’t come across as revivalists – you can put that down to a combination of a thick romantic streak and a totally prosaic lyrical style which is so terrifically unpretentious that it makes you wonder why so few other songwriters have been able to write like this. It's kind of perfectly summarised in a line from "Down The Lane" which goes "I've been alone and I'd take you home but my bedroom smells like cum / I could take you out, it'd be my shout, but you'd find that I'm no fun."

Royal Headache is out September 2 through R.I.P. Society (available digitally from Repressed) in Australia, Goner in the US (distro'd by Midheaven/Revolved & Easter Bilby) and XVIII in Europe.

R.I.P. Society are running a couple of competitions to win limited edition, hand-decorated test pressings of the album, one of which can be won by buying a presale ticket for the Sydney launch (on Sept. 2 at Goodgod) through moshtix; and RQ readers in the US can check them out on their US tour, starting Sept 8 at Deaf By Audio in Brooklyn:



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