Glide is premiering D.C.’s Broke Royals’ newest single “Postcard”, a cathartic, infectious, and pristine pop-rock standout, and tease at their third album out next year. The single comes off a collaboration with fellow D.C.’s genre-bending Bartees Strange, and features a more autobiographical approach to songwriting than Broke Royals has seen before. The song trembles with the power rock enthusiasm of The Gaslight Anthem alongside a undeniable punk underbelly.
“Postcard” came to life when vocalist Phillip Basnight found a postcard from an old relationship while cleaning out his room last year. For a moment of peace in a season of pain. “I carried that lyric around for years before I found the right story,” says Basnight. “[Finding the postcard] took me back to that exact headspace: the last great moment we shared before the relationship ended. It fit the lyric I had exactly and, all of the sudden, the whole song came to life.”
By the start of 2020, Broke Royals had a comfortable process. Philip Basnight (vocals), Colin Cross (drums), Taimir Gore (bass), and Ben Wilson (guitar) released two full-length albums and knew how to construct a typical “Broke Royals” song. Things were going well. They were sharing stages with their musical heroes and The Washington Post had praised their second album, Saint Luxury, as “an album of pristine pop-rock.”
“So as they began work on their third album, they knew they had to discard the old process and step out of their comfort zone. The group needed to throw a wrench in the gears to create something new and exciting. Enter Bartees Strange, their guide into the genre-bending unknown.”
As a live band, however, their songs sounded less pristine and more gritty. The band wanted to capture this energy and, even more, avoid slipping into autopilot. So as they began work on their third album, they knew they had to discard the old process and step out of their comfort zone. The group needed to throw a wrench in the gears to create something new and exciting. Enter Bartees Strange, their guide into the genre-bending unknown.
Together, Broke Royals and Bartees Strange began building up and breaking down ideas. Nothing was sacred and the safe choices were often the first ones to get cut. In this style, the group wrote and rewrote slowly throughout the pandemic, sometimes all together and sometimes individually. The result is Broke Royals’ most exciting collection of songs to date. “Postcard” is a reflection of this collaboration and what follows is a punchy high-energy track that builds to an infectious chorus relishing in an optimistic note written on a postcard long ago — I wish you were here / and you will be next time.
