Royals - High Stakes & Heartaches
- Kayleigh
- 4 hours ago
- 3 min read
Album Name; High Stakes & Heartaches Artist: Royals Released: January 2026 Rating: 9/10
Tracklist
All In
Talk About It
Fever
Spinning Out
Good For Me
Killer
Break Me
Getaway
California Weather
End Of Us
Can't Let Go
A Thousand Days
Sombre Song
Built on huge hooks and punchy pop-punk foundations 'High Stakes & Heartaches' is a defining statement of who Royals are. Their new leveled up sound shows fearless experimentation while always staying true to who they are at the core.
The Southampton outfit fuse the best of classic pop-punk with a modern edge that's even clearer on this new piece of work. Understandably their huge sound has earned them over a million streams across their releases and their signature infectious tracks have earned them a place in a lot of people's playlists.
"This album isn't us drawing a line under everything we've done before and saying, this is who Royals are now, it's taking what we've built and pushing it to its peak... its best version. We know in a world of singles an album isn't always what the industry expects, especially at our size. But we're confident in the sound we've curated already, so we wanted to create a defining moment and put a marker down." - (Royals)
Bursting into life with the vibrant 'All In' right through to the closing statement that is 'Sombre Song' 'High Stakes & Heartaches' almost feels like taking a walk through someone's diary, peeking into the darker moments, reveling in the joyous ones and taking in everything in between.
A lot of this album sits in a very typical pop-punk sound but with Royals modern edge, it's also an album with a lot of great features including Gabi Rose, Sammy Clifford and Lauren Coleman.
Tracks like 'Killer' stand out to me as it plays with synth to create a super fun and more poppy energy. Complete with vibrant guitars and lyrics that are guaranteed to have you singing a long this is a great one that almost leans in a early Waterparks type direction.
Another stand out track for me is 'Fever' which complete with saxophone from Gabi Rose feels so rooted in modern pop-punk. It's big chorus actually made this track the song that got me into listening to Royals when it came out and I'm happy I've stuck around for this album because it's been so worth it.
The track 'End Of Us' leans into something a little more emo and dipped in 2000's nostalgia. Everything about this one makes me feel like a teen again finding this music for the first time with my friends and I love it! The most recent single from the album 'Talk About It' with Last Night Saved My Life has a little edge to it. It's still fun pop-punk fueled but there's a little something more here, a little anger seeping through. Speaking of adding in a little aggression into the high energy tracks I have to talk about 'Spinning Out', this one took me a little off guard but in the best way. So listening through the album most of it's clearly heavily pop-punk influenced (even pop heavy ones like 'California Weather), and 'Spinning Out' for the most part fools you into that same feeling except for the slightly lower rumbles of the guitars. Then out of nowhere it builds into a breakdown and we're hit with actual screams all of a sudden transporting the track into a modern alt heavy place showing that Royals really are very versatile and have the ability to do so much.
The last track I'm gonna talk about (you'll have to listen to the album yourself to learn about them all) is closer 'Sombre Song'. This one feels like you've reached the end with it's upbeat hopeful "we made it!" energy. A bit bouncy, very catchy and packed with a wholesome energy that had me easily picturing the happy ending at the end of the movie. Overall 'High Stakes & Heartaches' may be a big piece in a world that's so obsessed with short form but I would recommend sparing 40 minutes of your time and checking this album out in full, from start to finish. There's a story being told throughout, of highs and lows placed into, for the most part upbeat and catchy tracks, yet they much like life also have their darker moments.
Listen to 'High Stakes & Heartaches' HERE
Royals online
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