by Rebeka Roga, SFU Student
With two nation-wide tours behind them, two albums, an EP, and several singles on Spotify, Royal Oak is a very impressive group. The accomplished band released their anticipated new single “Everything” on February 29, 2020. Having heard of this band recently, I was eager for this single to drop and had been replaying their other tracks, such as “Tell Me” and “Mistakes” in excitement. An element I loved in those two songs was how they combined synth with conventional rock elements, so I was thrilled hearing this same technique in “Everything.”
Listening to “Everything” for the first time, I found a familiar feeling in the intro. It was reminiscent of their song “When We Fall,” in that both songs take about 10 seconds in the beginning, playing a single note before dropping the beat, creating the same serious feeling.
But one of the best parts of the song has to be the drums, courtesy of SFU’s own Myles Philpott. He knows exactly when it is his time to shine in this single, and when to hold back. This draws more attention to the drums when Philpott is really jamming out, and draws attention to the deep meaning of the song in it’s more serious moments.
The lyrics begin with “Do you ever feel like you’re moving too fast, did you get away?” and immediately, the emotion that was built up by the long intro hits. Those lyrics and others such as “stand still at a slow-motion car crash” really paint a picture of yearning for something inside the heart, and also made me realize how Royal Oak uses imagery so brilliantly in their music.
Leading up to the pre-chorus, every line repeats “Did you get away, did you get away?” which builds a very poignant feeling, but it gets soothed by the energy of the synth in the chorus.
At this point, I was still curious as to why the song is titled “Everything” and why the lyrics seem so full of regret — that is, until the second verse started. Lead singer Austin Ledyard sings “Now and then I think of everything I once knew, watch it disappear . . . I never thought I would begin to feel everything, feel everything” which made it click, and I was blown away at the power this track has to get someone in their feelings.
The rest of the song increases in energy through a quicker baseline and killer electric guitar. The excitement of the final portion of the song offers a hand to hold to surmount any heartache stirred up by the beginning.
“Everything” has since become my favourite song by Royal Oak, the heart-felt lyrics and dynamic instrumentation packed into this song have really stuck with me. The strong vocals and catchy baseline of this single reflect how Royal Oak unwaveringly delivers exciting music that simultaneously feels passionate and energetic.
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