Royel Otis share their latest effortlessly infectious single, “car,” off their second studio album, hickey, available on August 22.
Cowritten by Royel Otis (Royel Maddell and Otis Pavlovic) with writer/producers Blake Slatkin (Gracie Abrams, Omar Apollo) and Omer Fedi (Lil Nas X, the Kid LAROI), “car” is strikingly minimal and all the more catchy and affecting for it. Wistful melodies mix with driving drums as Otis dreamily sings a painful farewell: “Yeah I’ll meet you at the car on the corner, but we know it’s gotta change sometime / You know I love the taste of your water, but I think it’s time to say goodbye.”