motel void

After years of road-testing their songs in clubs, basements, and DIY spaces across New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania, Royal Blush present their debut EP, A Ways Away. It’s a striking first chapter – raw, dynamic, and brimming with emotion.

The opening track, Go, immediately grabs your attention with its unfiltered energy. It kicks off with a burst of guitar distortion, then pulls back into a sultry calm, allowing Allison Heckart’s captivating vocals to shine. When the chorus hits—driven by the repeated cry of Go – it lands like a punch, revealing Heckart’s full vocal range and emotional intensity. These dynamic shifts – between aggression and whisper-like delicacy – recall the spirit of ’90s grunge, though with a cleaner, more modern production.

What makes this EP especially engaging is the way it defies stylistic boundaries. The second track, Ballads in the Sky, takes a surprising turn toward indie rock with an almost anthemic feel. The soaring chorus wouldn’t sound out of place on a mainstream radio station, yet it retains a sense of intimacy and heart. Heckart’s ability to adapt her voice to different emotional registers and genres is impressive – and this is a mode in which Royal Blush truly thrive for me.

Cherry Cola is a punchy, hook-driven song that lingers in your mind, especially thanks to its chorus, which feels instantly familiar in the best possible way. Midway through, the track offers a slowdown – an instrumental guitar break that shifts the mood into something softer, dreamier, and deeply satisfying. .

On Ice Age, the band lean further into their alt-rock sensibilities, delivering a textured, guitar-heavy piece that walks the line between power and melancholy. Heckart’s vocals are once again front and center—both commanding and vulnerable – and the production lets the song breathe without losing its intensity.

The EP closes with Butterflies on the Grave, a track that begins with stark minimalism: a solitary guitar and Heckart’s voice, full of aching emotion. It feels fragile, even mournful – until halfway through, when it suddenly bursts open into a cathartic grunge-fueled storm. The contrast is jarring in the best way, ending the record with an explosive sense of release that ties the EP’s emotional threads together.

A Ways Away is a confident debut – diverse in its sound, unified in its emotional weight. Royal Blush have arrived with something honest, gritty, and deeply promising.

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