The Royal Firecrackers - American Royal
The Royal Firecrackers may conjure up images of a regal army of pyrotechnicians, but in reality, it’s the solo project of Greg Franklin, a Seattle-based musician, visual artist and writer whose career spans decades. Franklin’s roots tie back to the Kansas City/Lawrence, KS indie scene (playing with Jackie Carol and The Believe It Or Nots) before a move brought him to Seattle in 2008 (now playing guitar for Seattle psych-pop stalwarts Black Whales). Franklin has also served as a music critic for The Village Voice, Seattle Weekly, Chunklet and The Pitch and visual artist (as Kentucky Chrome Industries, Franklin has designed posters, shirts, album art and other ephemera for bands like Pearl Jam, Khruangbin, Failure, Car Seat Headrest and others. One unwavering constant has woven its thread through all of his endeavors; Franklin’s life has perpetually revolved around his deep love and appreciation for music. American Royal (out July 3 via Cult of Maybe) is his debut solo album as the Royal Firecrackers, and is his love letter to music, his family, and the crumbling facade of America.
Written as a new father during the enforced stillness of COVID lockdown, American Royal is a reckoning; with his country, with the people closest to him, and with his own place in the world. It is the kind of album that could only be made by someone who had been paying close attention for a long time and finally had nowhere else to deal with these thoughts. After years of playing on other people’s projects and struggling with finding his own musical voice, Franklin found Los Angeles-based School of Song, a creative songwriting academy led by some of his favorite influences (Brian Eno, Robin Pecknold of Fleet Foxes, Scott McMickenof Dr. Dog, Adrianne Lenker and Buck Meek of Big Thief, Chris Cohen and Luke Temple of Here We Go Magic). Alongside a global community of other like-minded songwriting cohorts, Franklin’s creative blocks crumbled and the songs started coming out. Musical beds that had sat dormant for years suddenly flourished and became fully-fledged songs. The Royal Firecrackers bloomed from seeds in a sketchbook into a very real living thing.
Sonically, The Royal Firecrackers don’t stay in one place too long. The record is designed to be a perfect mixtape companion to a trip through the current American landscape. It lives smack in the epicenter of a collision; bombastic anthems and melodic hooks wrapped in abrasive edges careen wildly alongside plaintive folk confessionals and dark wandering spaces. Teetering on the edge of giving up on the American experiment completely, American Royal does its absolute damndest to stay hopeful that the bastards will not, in fact, grind us down and that we are not stuck inside this unrepentant season. American Royal arrives in a moment that the songs seem to have anticipated, baring its teeth while trying to remain optimistic.
The bulk of American Royalwas written and self-recorded in Franklin’s basement in Seattle, with drums being recorded by Robert Cheek (Band of Horses, Grandaddy, Deftones) at No Count Studio and XX Audio in Seattle. The album was mixed and mastered by Mike Bridavsky (Deerhoof, Plosivs, Magnolia Electric Co.) at Russian Recording in Bloomington, Indiana. A limited run of “Night Sky Fireworks” colored vinyl is being pressed by Third Man Pressing in Detroit, MI, with lacquers cut by Warren Defever (His Name Is Alive) and is currently available for preorder on The Royal Firecrackers Bandcamp.
The Royal Firecrackers celebrated the release of American Royal with a record release show in Seattle at Chop Suey on Friday, July 3, 2026 alongside fellow Seattle band The Lichen Hearts. The live Royal Firecrackers band includes Jeff MacIsaac (Carissa’s Wierd, Aveo), Betsy Olson (Betsy Olson Band) and Zach Norton (Child Bite, The Fruiting Bodies). Follow the band on Instagram/Facebook/Bandcamp for future concert dates and news.