Royel Otis Set August Release for Second Album ‘Hickey’

Indie-pop duo Royel Otis have confirmed their hotly anticipated sophomore album Hickey will arrive on Aug. 22 via OURNESS/Capitol Records.

The follow-up to their breakthrough debut Pratts & Pain (2024), Hickey was officially announced on June 24. The album features the single “Moody,” which was first released on May 9 and teased during a sold-out show in Los Angeles. The track marks a confident return that showcases their distinctive blend of dream-pop hooks, jangly guitars, and melancholic lyricism.

According to Sydney-based bandmates Royel Maddell and Otis Pavlovic, the album’s title was inspired by the emotional intensity of love itself. “…because love bites harder than any other emotion in the world,” they explained in a statement.

The album’s first single, “Moody,” was co-written with Grammy-winning songwriter Amy Allen and produced by Blake Slatkin, known for his work with Gracie Abrams, Omar Apollo, and Charli XCX. The track is “about a girl,” they said simply, letting the emotionally-charged music speak for itself.

However, the single has attracted some criticism for its lyrical content. The chorus line, “My girl’s a b–h when she’s moody,” was flagged by fans and media outlets as potentially misogynistic. In a statement released via their legal team, Royel Otis responded: “This song is written from a specific perspective, it is not intended to convey a broader view or standpoint about women in general. We apologise if anyone understood those lyrics otherwise.”

Royel Otis first formed in 2019, releasing a series of EPs between 2021 and 2023 before issuing their debut album, Pratts & Pain in 2024. Though their “Sofa King” track reached No. 12 on the Alternative Airplay chart in 2023, the band found widespread fame last year following their cover of Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s “Murder on the Dancefloor” for Australian radio station triple j’s Like a Version series. 

The cover topped the Alternative Airplay charts and also peaked at No. 41 on the Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart. The group’s penchant for covers was again felt when their SiriusXM session rendition of The Cranberries‘ “Linger” was released, giving them their first appearance on the Hot 100 when it reached No. 94.

In late 2024, the duo picked up four ARIA Awards from eight nominations, including Best Group and Best Rock Album. Producer Chris Collins also won for Best Produced Release and Best Engineered Release for Pratts & Pain.

Royel Otis are continuing their global ascent in 2025. Following a string of sold-out shows in New York City, Austin, and at home in Sydney, they’re heading to Europe for a series of major shows, including an appearance at Glastonbury Festival on June 29. From there, they’ll kick off their ‘meet me in the car’ headline tour across North America.

In a recent Rolling Stone AU/NZ interview, the band spoke candidly about their creative process. “We’ll start working on some stuff in early January,” Pavlovic said. “We’ve got a little bit of time away to just work on some music. I don’t know how anyone has an actual schedule or a routine of how they write songs. We just work together, bounce ideas off each other.”

“It’s always different,” Maddell added. “It’s like building a cake.”