The new single from Royal Wedding has the ability to grab you from teh very first second and keep its hold on you throughout its course.
"Holy Sympathy" gives off a combination of grunge, alternative pop, brit rock, and garage rock all in one emotionally driven and quite cinematic feeling song.
The track has a power behind it that feels passionate and heartfelt while the guitars riff in a slightly gritty way and vocals belt and wail.
This is a strong song for plenty of reasons but one of the most important is the it's performances. There are no walls built around the songs showmanship and it's a big reason the track boasts so much sway and heart.
You get engulfed in it's sound and by the end of the song you realize you've been swallowed whole and you need to stand up, and snap yourself out of it.
A great follow up to their previously released "False Idols" single which also keeps true to the bands strong performances on record.
With such a massive single, we wanted to sit down with Royal Wedding to get into where all of this comes from.
RAG: Okay guys, let's start things off with "Holy Sympathy". This track has a killer alternative rock and garage rock sound and even touches on grunge if you ask me. I think this track has some deeper meaning behind it as well. Where did this track come from?
● Liam - Justin was working on the base structure of this song for a while. Initially I had
written lyrics for it but I wasn’t too pleased with them, then Justin took it and
made it his own thing, lyrically. As far as the drums go it’s really just an
amalgamation of some ideas I’ve been wanting to implement for a while - a more
kind of ‘marching’ beat on the verse, that twittering off-tempo groove on the
chorus...some things I was using in practice sessions a lot at the time.
● Justin - I started putting together a guitar line for this song that is kind of hard to define
one specific influence. I’ve definitely taken a lot of inspiration from emo rock
groups as well as a ton of grunge rock groups. I felt that there was a strong
opportunity to rely on the vocal melody of the song rather than the guitar melody
which is something we haven’t gotten a chance to do in the past. As for the lyrics,
I wanted to convey the feeling of having no control over your own life or destiny.
The feeling that my future was already laid out for me was something I struggled
with a lot and thought it would fit well in this song. I also think that the lyrics can
be interpreted in a lot of different ways and I’d love for our audience to look at it in
that same way.
● Kevin - As Liam said, Justin is really responsible for the core of the song, so I will leave it
up to him to describe his rationale. Personally, I wanted a strong, but distant
presence in the song. This is evident in the chorus.
● Colby - I don’t remember
RAG: One of your other recent singles "False Idols" has a dark-ish feel to it. What bands and artists influenced you guys?
● Liam - For this song specifically? I think we started working on this song around the time
that the latest Daughters album came out. One of my favorite aspects of that
album are the brooding, sparse drum beats focusing on the toms, so I
immediately wanted to do something like that. Going into this album I definitely
wanted to try to focus more on texture and timbre, and I thought this song would
be the perfect breeding ground for experimenting with sound, considering the
pace and mood of it all. I strongly admire the way bands such as Godspeed You!
Black Emperor and Mogwai and Sigur Ros treat their guitars and instruments to
sound so texturally interesting, I really wanted to emulate them with the climax of
the song.
● Justin - I brought this guitar line to the other guys and thought immediately, “this is
something that can be built around in a big way.” I also supplied the lyrics for this
song and I wrote it about a certain musician and artist that Kevin and I loved and
grew up on together. It was a very upsetting and disappointing time to hear about
the scandal that this artist fell into. So in essence, I wrote it entirely about the
disappointment and heartbreak I felt in that moment. Musically, I give all the
credit to the guys for putting together an incredible song that at first was set to
just be an interlude. Liam brought a sound in the drums that I wasn’t expecting in
a slow and ominous way. I instantly fell in love with it. Kevin was able to pull
together an incredible front guitar line that you hear at the climax of the song. He
brought this dizzying, impending guitar line that really topped off the song in a
spectacular way.
● Kevin - I took heavily from more atmospheric parts of Touche Amore’s Stage Four and
Radiohead’s OK Computer. Justin and Liam brought the bones of this song to
me, and we began jamming to it. At the climax of the song, I would sort of just go
nuts with the tremolo picking. I refined this during recording and added a lot of
atmospheric parts, which Liam did a wonderful job piecing together and finding
the right tones.
● Colby - It was so long ago I can’t say I remember
RAG: How did this all start for you guys?
● Liam - My brother was in a band a while ago and I’d be forced to come to some band
practices after-school, so I’d bang around on the drums when they were taking a
break. When Kevin and Justin started learning guitar a while back and the idea
was thrown around about starting a band, I forced my way in with my very limited
knowledge of drums.
● Justin - We actually haven’t talked about this much with anyone. I really credit Kevin
entirely. I saw him playing guitar when I was at his house one day and instantly
knew what I wanted to do. Kevin taught me a song or two on the guitar and the
rest is history. We are all self taught on our instruments and we thought it would
be a great idea to start jamming together. The rest is history.
● Kevin - One day, I was teaching Justin how to play Wagon Wheel on my brother’s
acoustic guitar. The next day, Justin, Liam, and I were starting to jam together,
even though none of us really knew what we were doing. During the span of a
few years jamming in Justin’s basement, we began to notice a figure appear in
the corner. None of us did anything about it, and we seldom brought it up in
conversation. As time passed, it began to take form. The apparition would
eventually form what is today known as Colby. Of course we were scared, but he
said he wanted to play with us, so he joined the band. We still aren’t sure where or why he came to us, but we have learned not to question it. Nothing good
happens when we question it.
● Colby - I was coerced
RAG: Did you guys play shows before? Do you think you'll be focusing on live shows again when the time comes?
● Liam - Oh yeah a bunch, whenever we had a break from school and all the guys were
back from college we’d try to play a handful of shows. I really, really miss it. I’m
hoping I’ll be able to return to a world that isn’t, like, a post-venue nightmare in
the future. I’d love to play with these guys again, and I’d love to play in front of a
crowd. That being said, considering where life is taking me, I am completely fine
focusing much more on recording stuff, putting out stuff, and playing shows when
we can. Sometimes it's hard performing the summoning ritual that allows Colby
to appear, so we have to find time for that, too.
● Justin - We did get the opportunity to play at a couple of small venues in Northern Jersey
such as the Meatlocker and Boontunes. We met a lot of great bands and artists
that way that we still stay in contact with today. Once COVID hit the world, we
focused all of our energy on recording our upcoming album which we are ecstatic
about. We hope that we can start playing live again soon! But obviously,
everyone’s safety comes first.
● Kevin - I cannot wait to play shows again, but I am admittedly worried for the future. We
played a number of shows in Northern New Jersey and met a lot of really fun
groups. There is nothing greater than the feeling of putting on a show for a group
of people. I often think about a show we played at Boon Tunes in front of a
crowd composed mostly of our friends. Their energy fed us and we had the time
of our life. Man, I miss it. While I don’t know what the future holds, I hope for
certain that we will be able to play shows together again.
● Colby - If I can get over my crippling fear of having my back to Liam, again, yeah, sure
RAG: What's next for you as a band?
● Liam - A third album! We’ve already started working on a few songs that...while I can’t
really tell a clear direction, they are all new territory for us. Even though we’re
pretty DIY I’m very happy with the level of production we’ve been able to get for
the past two albums, so I’m super interested in pushing us a bit more, more
texture, more detail, all that. I’ve found my way into a violin, too, and I think Kevin
has a clarinet somewhere, so I’d love to see what we can do with those things.
● Justin - We absolutely plan to release new music in the future! I’m hoping we can find a
new direction to go in and build on our sound further. I feel like we really defined
our current sound on this upcoming album we are about to release. Who knows
what projects we will get to put together in the future!
● Kevin - Apparently I will have a Clarinet feature on the third album? Yikes, I haven’t
played that thing in years. Well I played for long enough; it should be fine. As a
band I think we are starting to refine our sound while maintaining our whimsical
attitude. I’m really just excited to take a jab at making more music with these
guys and getting back to playing shows. I have been working on a few things
that I know these guys will be able to elevate to the next level.
● Colby - I’m not a band I’m Colby
RAG: You have released several singles in 2020, what advice would you have for other up and
coming bands out there trying to get heard?
● Liam - I know one thing I’ve learned from this process is that, whatever you want to
make, you will most likely be able to find the avenues and production to be able
to do something at least similar to your vision. So I wouldn’t worry about saving
your most ambitious stuff for the future. As far as being heard...I’m not so sure,
we’re still on the come up ourselves, but I’ll say becoming friends with other
bands at shows has been a plus. Supporting each other, developing a kind of
scene, that stuff would be very helpful.
● Justin - Make sure you have fun while making music! My favorite part about this band is
that when we play together, it never feels like a chore. We have fun. We good
around and laugh and when we create a final product for a song, it’s such an
incredible feeling for all of us. Keep making sure your music gets heard, don’t
hold anything back when playing live, and keep doing what you love with
passion.
● Kevin - Play live shows and make the music that you want to make. We are still very
new at this, but I can say that those are the two things that have brought myself
the most joy. To us, it isn’t all about trying to get heard. We love the knowledge
that we were added to a playlist or people are listening to our songs, but
ultimately knowing that we made music that we are happy with triumphs over all
of that. Stick to your roots and never stop developing as a musician and as a
person.
● Colby - Lol like you should take advice from us
RAG: What are you guys doing when you're NOT working on music?
● Liam - A lot of writing, some reading - I recently finished “Invisible Cities” by Italo
Calvino, which has been a game changer for me. Also I do a lot of whatever it is
you would call just hanging around on the internet. Finding new music all the
time, too. Recently I’ve been researching speedruns, which I think are super
interesting, considering it’s all about people finding ways to break constructed
things. But my main passion is writing, and I’ve tried to work at it more
consistently through quarantine. Along with this I’m currently in school studying to
go into education. I guess the other guys have added their team affiliations, so I
will too. Big baseball guy. Go Red Sox!
● Justin - I am currently working on the sales team at Better Mortgage in NYC. We are all
working remotely at this point but I really love my job. Outside of that, I’m
constantly listening to new music and finding new inspiration for my own music.
I’m also a big hockey fan. LETS GO DEVILS!
● Kevin - I am currently getting my master’s in Public Policy at Rutgers. While I’m working
on papers or homework, I always try expanding the music I listen to. Liam can
attest to the number of times I have texted him asking for new music to listen to.
If there is a single song I like from a band, I will often listen to the whole album
that the song is featured on. Outside of school, I work at a liquor store (see
“Theme from Cheers” by Titus Andronicus for more information). It’s easy work
and allows me a lot of time to myself and my thoughts. I am also a huge Mets
fan and have been following the offseason closely. Very excited about the team
that Cohen is building. LFGM!
● Colby - Nothing, I am cryogenically frozen year round and the boys only take me out
when I am needed
RAG: Do you get together for live rehearsals?
● Liam - We used to! We haven't in a little bit for...obvious reasons. But we are typically
able to practice with some frequency over breaks, especially when there’s a
show coming up. And honestly whenever any of us are together we’ll probably
stumble our way into jamming for at least a little bit.
● Justin - We used to constantly get together to jam and rehearse our music! At this point
we are keeping our distance and mostly meeting up on zoom calls just to hang
out. If one of us comes up with a new guitar line or drum line for a potential song,
we send recordings to each other and build around that.
● Kevin - We definitely used to jam often, nearly every weekend we would play together.
Those were the best times. Some rehearsals were more serious than others. As
Liam prefaced, rehearsals before shows were dedicated to our set and any tricks
we had up our sleeves. Outside of that, they would be playing cover songs,
bringing new things to the table, or just coming up with songs on the fly.
● Colby - I used to live with the rats in Kevin’s basement where we practiced, so I was
usually around for them yeah.
RAG: What sort of non-musical things inspire you to write?
● Liam - In general I pull a lot of my inspiration from lived experiences, which I think is a
cliched or obvious answer, but only because of how true it is. I’ll write just about
my day, or the random people I’ll see on a walk, you know. Personally I don’t
think any animal brain was supposed to experience half the things that we do, so
I like to try to find my way through those experiences. As I said before I’m super
into writing in general, so I pull a lot of inspiration from authors, as well, recently
I’ve been into Thomas Bernhard, he kind of does that mundane analyses thing.
Also dogs, I get inspired a lot from dogs. Especially the very long kind. Overall if
something makes Colby happy, it makes me happy.
● Justin - I’ve only recently started taking inspiration from fantasy works such as Lord of the
Rings and Skyrim for my writing. Haven’t put together a song yet, but hopefully I
can pull something together.
● Kevin - I watch a lot of Jeopardy...not sure if this is relevant. Um....I also write to try to
please Colby. The last thing we want is an upset Colby.
● Colby - I am my own inspiration
RAG: Before we go, what would you like to say to fans out there?
● Liam - If Colby ever shows up at your front door don’t worry, he needs to be invited in
before he can enter, so you should be safe.
● Justin - Keep an eye out for our upcoming album!
● Kevin - Stay tuned!
● Colby - Oof
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