After years of cutting their teeth in the basements and backrooms of the American East Coast’s tri-state scene, Jersey City’s Royal Blush steps into the spotlight with A Ways Away, a debut EP that captures the raw, emotional chaos of coming of age in a world that rarely slows down. Fusing nostalgic alt-rock with the grit of grunge and the haze of shoegaze, the trio balances cathartic vulnerability with unflinching sonic power. From the explosive opener ‘Go’ to the unresolved ache of ‘Butterflies on the Grave’, the project can be described as equal parts scream and sigh. It’s loud, honest, and deeply human. For On The Record, we caught up with the band to dive into the stories, sounds and scars behind A Ways Away.
Welcome to Unrecorded! For those who aren’t already familiar with Royal Blush, can you introduce the project?
Hey! Thanks for having us… we’re Royal Blush. An indie rock group from Jersey City, NJ, and our debut EP A Ways Away just hit the stands May 16th!
Let’s dive right into your new EP, A Ways Away. What does the title signify for you personally and as a band?
This EP is a collection of our mental overload. Shameless vulnerability to shed the fear of being alone… we’re a ways away, but in it together.
The EP spans such a dynamic emotional spectrum, from fury to sweetness. Was it a conscious decision to balance those extremes or did that evolve naturally?
A bit of both I suppose. The song’s emotions developed naturally, but pinning them specifically in the same project allowed the display of the human existence to be at a max! It’s all part of a balanced emotional diet.
How did your New Jersey roots and the tri-state scene influence the tone and themes of this project?
The talent in this area is on a wild level, we’re inspired constantly by our friends and bill-sharers! Being across the Hudson from NYC brings a special energy as well. It can be cold and beautiful at the same time, toughening us up in its twisted humor. Rolling with the punches, living and learning. We’re all just figuring it out, and that energy is all over this project.
What was the biggest challenge in translating the raw energy of your live shows into a recorded format?
The endless creative avenues of recording is a blessing and curse! The world really is your oyster in the studio, so deciding on a path that’s official and set can be difficult. Our guitarist and producer Pat is a huge help! Having him in our lineup this last year has offered a whole new perspective on our sound and that’s be so intriguing to explore, making this “challenge” pretty fun.
You open the EP with ‘Go’, which feels like a cathartic purge. Why start the record with this particular track?
It felt right to come out swinging! We also loved the symbolism of our debut project taking off with a song titled ‘Go’.
‘Ballads in the Sky’ plays with a key change in a really emotional way, so can you walk us through the writing and arrangement process of that song?
Ever since the beginning of Blush, Al & Andrew have itched to find the right placement for a key change. We love the classic uplift in: I Wanna Dance with Somebody, Man in the Mirror, Living On a Prayer. But it’s a hard thing to do right. With ‘Ballads’ it just clicked!
‘Ice Age’ and ‘Cherry Cola’ are some of your oldest songs. How have they changed over time and what kept them relevant to you as artists?
So, ‘Ice Age’ and ‘Cherry Cola’ are two songs that were pretty heavily developed by Andrew, prior to Blush’s start in 2021. Lyrically, Cherry is about a couple drunk on impulsiveness, similar to Bonnie and Clyde or the characters in Natural Born Killers. Meanwhile, Ice Age was written in the depths of Covid and was a daydream for a change in luck and circumstances.
‘Cherry Cola’ was released in 2022 as a demo and has seen many tweaks since – most notably the “new”, but original, pre-chorus on this EP, that took a hit in the demo’s making during an overthinking session on Al’s couch while recording. ‘Ice Age’ grew a breakdown and an extended outro since its birth over the years as well! It’s been so cool having these two songs in for the long haul, and spending years nitpicking them to expand with our evolution!
‘Butterflies on the Grave’ ends the EP on such an unresolved, haunting note. What impact do you think this closing track will have on listeners?
‘Butterflies”’ abrupt ending represents the empty echo and unsettling residue of a closed chapter. Where do we go from here? What’s next?
This EP is set to be part of a larger project, so can you give us a glimpse of what’s coming next?
Yeah! We’re not done yet. A Ways Away is more so just chapter one, and we’ve already started diving into the next. Keep an eye out later this year!
You can find lead single ‘Go’ in our Indie Rockers playlist.
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