Sydney’s Royal Headache burst into view back in 2011 upon the release of their self-titled album, an adrenaline shot of melodic energy and heart-on-sleeve romanticism that immediately lit up listeners home and away. They dug deep, and took their blinding live show on the road throughout North America and Australia, culminating in a series of opening dates for the Black Keys on their home continent.

Royal Headache’s new album is called High and injects even more soul and passion into the breakneck formula that became synonymous with Royal Headache. If their first album was akin to a courtship, think of High as the romance. Not just on the level of two people falling in love, but a romance with the qualities of pop music that make Royal Headache who they are and inform what they do: eternal optimism, wistful beauty and interlocking presentation that evolves from four guys singing on a street corner to speed-addled rock, and all the brightness and darkness in between, teetering between stability and chaos and well-aware of how unsteady their footing might be.

Royal Headache’s High is out August 21st on What’s Your Rupture? and on the band’s Distant and Vague label in Australia.  The band will tour the U.S. this summer with Sheer Mag, including appearances at Los Angeles’ Berserktown II fest, and an open horizon thereafter.

HIGH TRACKLISTING:
01. My Own Fantasy
02. Need You
03. High
04. Another World
05. Wouldn’t You Know
06. Garbage
07. Love Her If I Tried
08. Carolina
09. Little Star
10. Electric Shock

ROYAL HEADACHE TOUR DATES:
Mon. Aug. 10 – Seattle, WA @ Chop Suey
Tue. Aug. 11 – Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios
Thu. Aug. 13 – San Francisco, CA @ Rickshaw Stop *
Sat. Aug. 15 – Los Angeles, CA @ Berserktown Festival
Mon. Aug. 17 – Austin, TX @ Red 7
Wed. Aug. 19 – Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle #
Thu. Aug. 20 – Detroit, MI @ UFO #
Fri. Aug. 21 – Toronto, ON @ Silver Dollar
Sat. Aug. 22 – Montreal, QC @ La Vitrola
Mon. Aug. 24 – Boston, MA @ The Great Scott #
Tue. Aug. 25 – Brooklyn, NY @ Rough Trade #
Thu. Aug. 27 – Baltimore, MD @ Windup Space #
Fri. Aug. 28 – Philadelphia, PA @ PhilaMOCA #
Sat. Aug. 29 – Brooklyn, NY @ Palisades #

* w/ Total Control
# w/ Sheer Mag