Somewhere between the concrete streets of Jersey City and dreams echoing in guitar strumming, the band ROYAL BLUSH came into being. They formed in 2021 – at a time when the world had slightly slowed down, and people began rediscovering music. The initiator was guitarist Andrew Merclean – his inner emotionality clearly resonates with the way he plays. Soon, he was joined by a vocalist with a soft, slightly detached voice – Allison Heckart, Al to those closest to her. Later, Patryk Sikorski joined the band – a guitarist, producer, and sound engineer. With his arrival, the sound became more cohesive: loud when it needs to be, and restrained when that matters most.
Their style – is as if shoegaze, dream pop, and ’90s grunge met at sunset in an old bar and started a jam session. They draw inspiration from everything: from Heart and Bowie to Kendrick Lamar. Their music is made of fragments of emotions, where nostalgia embraces modernity. 2025 became a year of change for ROYAL BLUSH: in May, they released the EP “A Ways Away” – their debut and long-awaited release. The EP was produced, recorded, and polished to brilliance by Patryk’s own hands. It is – their shared breath. Their scream. Their whispered “we are here.” Well then, after such an introduction to the band, let’s move on to the main part – the review of “A Ways Away.”
The EP consists of five tracks. The atmosphere of these tracks, for me, is like an olfactory image. It mixes the bitterness of beer, the sharp sound of falling coins, the damp freshness of the night city, and the intimacy of quiet words. And the first track on the release, “Go” – it hits like a bang! You know, as if all the old, painful things are blown away by the wind. A dark carousel of emotions – something many are probably familiar with. And here it feels like it reaches that very last point, the kind of blow after which silence falls, like “finally!” And those heavy backing vocals – like echoes of all that gloom that once was. The guitar riffs – like shards of rage, just as they are. And the melody is tense, like a string pulled to its limit, and then – snap! — and that’s it, the door slams shut, and there’s a sense of relief. That’s how the band kicks things off.
However, “Ballads in the Sky” is a completely different song – in its atmosphere, grief grows wings. The story came from something personal – from the inner storm the band’s vocalist experienced after the death of her grandmother. Her voice is the very first thing you hear in the song. She speaks about her life, about playing piano in a small Iowa town, where the sounds weren’t loud, but they were sincere. The band also recorded an acoustic live session using her jewelry, scarf, and candles as a tribute.
The song “Cherry Cola” radically changes the mood of the release. Its melodies, rhythm, and vocal sections – it’s a flash of freedom, like a scene from an old road movie. It gives the impression that the whole band has leapt into motion, racing into the wind. Innocence isn’t lost here – it takes the wheel. Along with a getaway car and full determination to fear nothing. Andrew, the guitarist of ROYAL BLUSH, wrote the verses after a memorable drive through the desert. The landscape around looked like another world: sun, dust, radio static, and thoughts in his head about a parallel life. A life where he turned onto a completely different road. Where everything is different: different cities, different choices, different feelings. “Cherry Cola” is about a state of soul where, sitting behind the wheel, you think: “Even if everything ahead is unknown, I’m ready to keep driving until it gets dark.”
After the sultry “Cherry Cola,” the track “Ice Age” sounds like an inner winter – quiet, frozen, almost transparent. Written in 2020, when the whole world seemed to freeze, this song is a response to the feeling of being unreachable: to people, to yourself, to the future. There are no outbursts here – only waiting. The acceptance that change isn’t always loud. Sometimes, spring is simply late. The final guitar solo – like a roll of the sky. And then – one voice among many, carrying the truth: “Ice Age fading, we’re still aching all the time.” The ice recedes. The illusions go with it. And we remain – stripped down, but real.
“Butterflies on the Grave” is the final chapter of the band’s debut EP. The song builds slowly, as if gathering into a storm, and from the very first lines, it raises doubts: Do we love the right way? And what if it’s already too late? The instrumental rolls in like a wave, and you expect a resolution – but instead, there’s a sudden, premature end. Just like in life: relationships disappear not when you’re ready. And not in the way you expected. “Butterflies on the Grave” is about how love can begin beautifully and end quietly. It’s very ambitious and serves as a reminder of why ROYAL BLUSH caught the attention of so many fans.
The EP “A Ways Away” feels like a puzzle assembled from tension. It’s a mood, a state, a small confession you can hear even among the noise of the city. ROYAL BLUSH are the ones who aren’t afraid to sound genuine. The members call themselves “musical wanderers.” They strive for inclusivity and for creating something new – something that’s reflected in both their name and their work. And this mini-album is about accepting your weakness, not being ashamed of it, so that the stupid fear of loneliness can finally let go. That’s what this “A Ways Away” is all about.
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