When ‘Shaking Hips and Crashing Cars’ released in 2023, there was an immediate sense that Wrexham quartet, ‘The Royston Club’ are going places, with sold out venues across the UK and a wide cult following, the longing for new music was loud and clear from fans and critics alike.
And it was finally matched when the first single ‘The Patch Where Nothing Grows’ released in August 2024. A somewhat different approach than their previous work, this single immediately marking a subtle but defining shift in direction, the tracks blends stinging and blistering guitar, with passionate and vulnerable vocals, whilst this may be a new direction for The Royston Club, they still very much hold firmly to their core and add to that formula that has kept fans needing more since 2023.
And with that intensely promising start, the rest of the album certainly lives up the to the expectation. Across the 10-track running, the feeling of desperation and vulnerability runs extremely clear.
Especially on tracks like ‘Cariad’, a sombre ballad, starting off with vocalist Tom Faithfull playing on an acoustic, almost speaking directly to somebody, as the song carries on, one by one members of the band join in. ‘Cariad’ which translated to Welsh is ‘Darling’, is an extremely soulful and heartbreaking song, which follows lead songwriter Ben Matthias’ breakup and reflects on the struggles of losing someone you love and having to move on regrettably, All supplemented by Faithfull’s vocals leaving listeners understanding the pain.
‘Glued To The Bed’ is another standout track, it is the one I find myself listening to the most. Straight away it burrows itself inside your head, it all kicks off with some more wonderful guitar once again taking lead role. ‘Glued to The bed’ uses the same understanding and learning from past breakups into a much grittier and moodier track.
It’s almost like two eras, on the one hand you have ‘Cariad’, the recent heartbreak still aching the heart, and then there is ‘Glued to The Bed’, having to live with the fact that it happened and having to move on in your life. Both songs work perfectly solo and in comparison, but ‘Glued to The Bed’, has that more anthemic rhythm to it that will surely find its way into future setlists.
Over the course of the album, a certain shift of emotions takes place, the second half of the album, with tracks such as ‘30/20’ embracing a more upbeat style, it’s full of optimism and hopefulness, still delivering on the amazing vocals and shimmering presence of the guitar. It certainly is a noticeable change from the first half of the album, but one that feels refreshing and a showcase of what The Royston Club has learned between their formation and now.
And to wrap it all up, in a triumphant finale, like the ending of a movie, is ‘The Ballad of Glen Campbell’ filled with beautiful and delicate piano, and vocals that leave a chill down your spine. It is by far the defining track on the album, this is the one truly defines the band and signs it all off with a bittersweet ending.
‘Songs For the Spine’ is more than just a triumphant return for a band that already had solidified their place in fans’ hearts, it is a testament to how far a band can come in just a short few years, and the resilient spirit of the human heart.
The Royston Club: Songs For the Spine – Out 8 August 2025 (Run On Records)
