Energetic and hard-hitting, Royal Castles are making nostalgic but contemporary garage-rock. Hailing from the Royal City of Guelph, Ontario and featuring the power trio of Katrin Sawatzky, Jordan Gabriel and AJ Johnson (Juno-nominated Cuff the Duke), the three-piece take influence from the bands of their formative years, delivering pounding drums, crunchy guitars and a healthy dose of wooly bass. Recently, the trio has spent time at North of Princess (Kingston, Ontario) honing their sound and recording their sophomore album with producer Zane Whitfield (The Glorious Sons, The Bluestones).
Check out, “Been Around,” the salient new single from Royal Castles. Thick electric guitar tones chunk out a classic progression, setting up a nostalgic vibe that leads into an anthemic slacker-rock chorus. Carefully constructed and coming to a head at the bridge, “Been Around” melds the edgy sounds of Drive-By Truckers alongside the pop splendor of early Wilco.
“Harkening to a tasty 90s sludge-rock sound, latest single “Been Around” explores the intersection of nostalgia and disappointment while it drives and delivers. Life can be altogether exciting and completely suck at the exact same moment. It’s important to keep that perspective and enjoy what is good, while refusing to ignore what is wrong.”
