Straight from the suburbs of Vancouver (Port Coquitlam, to be precise) indie rockers Royal Oak are excited to announce the release of their new EP Pretend on July 20th. Royal Oak will celebrate the new EP with a release show at The Biltmore in Vancouver on July 27th and are kicking off a Canadian Tour on August 8th. See below for full tour listing.
The release of the new EP comes on the heels of their second album, Younger, which was just released last year. On Pretend, Royal Oak continue in the same musical direction as their previous 2 releases successfully pairing indie rock vibes with a modern pop sensibility. It’s music that is clean and controlled, yet bursting at the seams with energy.
The EP’s first single ‘Tell Me’ was officially released on June 1st, after premiering on Spill Magazine. ‘Tell Me’ is a catchy hook-laden track, soaked in swagger with an 80’s synth backdrop and provides a teaser of what’s to come. The band teamed up with Vancouver producer/mix engineer Ryan Worsley (Dear Rouge, Said The Whale) for this EP and with his skill and guidance, Royal Oak were challenged to move in new musical directions.
“We started writing Pretend last year shortly after we got off the road from our Western Canadian Tour in support of Younger,” said lead vocalist Austin Ledyard. “We were really inspired, after coming off of tour, to write some hard-hitting and fun music, while also trying different avenues that we hadn’t explored yet in our last two records. I think the energy and sense of discovery that we had when we wrote the songs translated very well once Ryan got his hands on them – they just felt so fresh and inspiring. When we started the EP, we recorded with the whole band live off the floor, and I think the concept of being in a room together really helped bring the energy and make the record shine. It just felt natural, just like every recording should feel like.”
Royal Oak’s new EP Pretend will be available on Spotify, Apple Music/iTunes, and other digital retailers and streaming services on Friday, July 20th.
ROYAL OAK >> UPCOMING TOUR DATES
July 27th – Vancouver, BC – The Biltmore Cabaret
August 8th – Fernie, BC – The Northern
August 10th – Calgary, AB – The Palomino
August 11th – Regina, SK – Cloud 9
August 13th – Thunder Bay, ON – The Foundry
August 16th – Hamilton, ON – The Casbah
August 17th – Toronto, ON – Supermarket
August 18th – Ottawa, ON – Cafe Dekuf
August 19th – Montreal, QC – Piranha Bar
August 23rd – Winnipeg, MB – Le Garage Café
August 25th – Edmonton, AB – Bohemia
August 26th – Revelstoke, BC – The Last Drop
Good morning! Kudos to the Ottawa dragonboat festival whose free concerts get better year after year. Did I say their free concerts are free?
http://www.dragonboat.net/news/031918-2018-concert-lineup.aspx
Good morning!
Free?
Free.
The way it has come to be, I think is that the d-boat thing established itself, got popular, and started having a little festival on the side. Local bands and less popular indie bands. Lots of dragonboaters…
Basically, it has grown into a monster; I suppose they have lots of money is available because of general popularity, volunteerism (the whole thing is) and —>popularity with somewhat moneyed, white Canadians. Not trying to typecast or be evil here, it just strikes me this way.
So, with the build-up in popularity (biggest in Canada, maybe N. America too), they’ve been getting bigger and bigger singers and bands over the past 4 years or so; it’s been noticeable. (I suggest their site for the history.)
Oh, and I think the shows have always been open to the public. A very open-minded attitude on the part of the organisation.
I liked Royal Oak’s track up there. I am happy to see a Regina date on there as well but I think that might be Regina Folk Fest weekend.
I am excited to be planning a show for Oldseed, Kris Demeanor and Carolyn Mark in Regina in August. Oldseed is a friend of Loweeda’s that will be touring from Trout Forest Music Fest https://www.troutfest.com/ to Vancouver with them.
It might be an idea to have a (the?) picnic at the Dragonboat Festival (I hear it’s free)
Good afternoon! I was searching for something to listen to at work and found this stream on cbc music which I thought might be up your guys’ alley. 3 songs in and it’s been TUNS, Mike O’Neil & Holy Fuck.
Haven’t seen the show yet. (Half saw part of it, on mute)
https://www.cbcmusic.ca/music-streams/b430/CBC-TVs-Crawford
I guess all the action around here is in the mornin’s eh?
Thanks for dropping in FT. The action is slow around here these days. It does seem to be more mornings. Thanks for the tip on the stream.