The Reytons don’t do things the way you’re supposed to. No label, no industry machinery, no compromises — just four lads from Rotherham making exactly the music they want to make and letting the audience find them. And find them they have. What’s Rock and Roll? hit number one on the UK album chart. Ballad of a Bystander reached number two. They sold out 20,000 tickets in their hometown of Clifton Park. They played OVO Arena Wembley. They became the first independent band to headline Tramlines Festival. All of it entirely on their own terms.
Now they’re back with their fourth studio album, A Love Letter To A Broken Town, out July 24 — and if first single ‘Jukebox’ is anything to go by, frontman Jonny Yerrell isn’t wrong when he says it’s the best thing they’ve ever done. The track is packed with nostalgia, built around the kind of communities that used to thrive and don’t quite anymore, and it hits with the warmth and directness that has always been The Reytons’ greatest strength. Watch the video and you’ll understand immediately why this band has the following it does.
The album promises the full Reytons experience — high-energy anthems sitting alongside slower, more introspective moments, sharp social commentary throughout. ‘Busker’s Paradise’ tells the story of a street performer navigating life in a town in decline. ‘Hello, How Are You Today?’ balances nostalgia with sheer optimism in the way only this band can. Yerrell puts it simply: “A lot of bands like to change direction later in their careers, but that’s just not us. Expect more, just bigger and better with a few surprises on the side.”
A summer festival run takes them to Rock Werchter in Belgium, Mad Cool in Spain, Benicassim and Bergenfest before they headline Y Not Festival in Derbyshire on July 31 — which, for a band that has always felt like the sound of a community, feels like exactly the right way to spend a summer.
A Love Letter To A Broken Town is out July 24. ‘Jukebox’ is out now.
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