From schoolmates learning their way around a guitar, to over 15 thousand monthly listeners on Spotify, Wrexham-based Indie band The Royston Club are well on their way to leaving their mark on the music industry. Each single they release continues to improve and define the band’s distinctive sound; their latest single ‘Mrs Narcissistic’ brings a refreshing and upbeat twist that combines a The Strokes-style guitar riff with lead singer Tom Faithfull’s energetic and composed vocals to create a classic indie rock anthem.
The band consists of high school friends Ben Matthias on lead guitar, Dave Tute on bass, aforementioned Tom Faithful as lead singer and Sam Jones on the drums. Living in Wrexham, the band formed in 2019, just weeks before releasing their debut single ‘Shawshank’.
Less than two years down the line, ‘Shawshank’ has surpassed 250,000 streams with later released ‘Mariana’ and ‘Believe It or Not’, which feature on their debut EP This State I’m In, catching up on 190,000 and 130,000 streams, respectively.
Inspiration from the likes of Radiohead, Sports Team and Car Seat Headrest can be seen in the band’s tracks, but it is their ability to retain an element of fresh originality and distinctiveness that highlights The Royston Club’s talent, and this is reflected in their rapidly growing popularity and streaming site statistics.
The group visited Parr Street Studios with producer Alex Quinn (SPQR, Spinn, The Blinders) in early October this year, and walked out with four brand new tracks that they had written and developed over the national lockdown that began in March – perhaps one of the only good things to come from this period.
The previously praised ‘Mrs Narcissistic’ is one of the tracks to come from this creative period. The track has gained over 10,000 streams in just four days on Spotify alone, and rightly so. With its impressive array of lively drums, scintillating riffs and playful lyrics, the song was made for an exhilarating live performance, and the band’s management with Modern Age Music has given them the perfect opportunity to provide just that.
The Royston Club have to organise their first headline tour of the UK, beginning in April 2021 and stemming into May. I reached out to lead singer Tom Faithfull for an idea of what we can expect from The Royston Club in the future:
“We’ve got a lot more tunes that we can’t wait for everyone to hear, and the boys can’t wait to get back on the main stage, so expect plenty of new songs and live performances to come!”
I also asked Tom about the long-term aspirations for the band, and he assured me he spoke on behalf of the whole group with his response:
“We just want as many people enjoying our music as possible, and the opportunity to continue playing together and making new stuff for you guys to hear. Oh, and I suppose headlining Glasto wouldn’t be too bad.”
All images from Modern Age Music