Royal City

by Tim Sendra
Toronto band Royal City is led by singer/songwriter Aaron Riches. He is joined by Jim Guthrie, Nathan Lawr, Simon Osborne, and the occasional friend to create an intense and personal brand of lo-fi indie rock that is most easily lumped in with the Palace and Songs: Ohia family of keening, country-influenced loners with guitars. The group debuted their fragile acoustic-based sound on At Rush Hour the Cars, their 2000 release on the Toronto label Three Gut. Their next release showed the results of time spent together honing their sound. 2001's Alone at the Microphone, also released on Three Gut, is a more mature and fully realized record; they sound less like Palace imitators and more like contemporaries. In early 2002 drummer, Nathan Lawr left the band and was replaced by Lonnie James. Soon after the band hit the road and played their first shows in the U.S. and Europe. May of 2003 found Alone at the Microphone picked up for wider distribution by Sanctuary in the U.K. and BMG in America. A year later, the group's third album, Little Heart's Ease, was co-released by Three Gut and Rough Trade.