Royal Blood
by Royal Blood
Release date: 25th August 2014
Tracklist: Out Of The Black / Come On Over / Figure It Out / You Can Be So
Cruel / Blood Hands / Little Monster / Loose Change / Careless / Ten Tonne
Skeleton / Better Strangers //
These days, Royal Blood are not
my average listening experience, moving from
I-Forget-Where-We-Were-Ben-Howard-esque vibes to Royal Blood isn't
always what you expect to hear, especially when your set music mindset is
intense-but-also-chilled-folky-guitar. But then again, no one ever just listens
to one style of music - it gets boring - then I came across Royal Blood. "You
don't have to be a certain type of person to like our music. You can like Black
Sabbath and like us. Or you can like Sam Smith and like us. Whatever you want,
we're here."
Royal Blood duo, Mike
Kerr and Ben Thatcher, were an unexpected
addition to the genre when they released their first single, Out Of
The Black, back in 2014. At first they were amped up due to
their original take on their genre, a two-piece band where their main melody
instrument is the bass guitar - the fact that they produce the sound that they
do, from a bass guitar and a drum kit is amazing. This game-changing element of
their music and sound comes across as effortless and easy.
The album is consistent, as you slowly listen
through the tracks you realise how good their sound is - with it being their
first album and their obvious disadvantages compared to other bands set-ups,
it’s a brilliant album. But finding out that their set-up has this disadvantage
makes it twice as surprising when you hear their first single Out Of The Black. It’s
one of the better tracks on the album and is opened so confidently. Their music
is much more than your average metal/rock band, they introduce so much more
rhythm into their riffs that are thrown about throughout the album. You Can Be So Cruel and Little Monster (as
well as others) are clear examples of this, with the obvious groove that is
placed in their riffs.
As well as the obvious instrumental set-up that
they are confidently executing, there’s Kerr’s voice
that definitely adds to the overall soundscape. Kerr exploits
the higher range that can be easily reached within his voice. Blood Hands begins
with these short quiet, almost whispered lines, “took a lonely feeling /
just to let the meaning / sink like the sun goes down”, before the drums
and kick in and the piece slowly increases in volume and texture, then letting
go to say “but I’ll curse the ground where you kneel / till I grow my hair
to my heels / spike your water, your wine / while you waste my precious time”.
Royal Blood is worth the listen, even if it’s just to hear
how well they execute their unusual instrumentation for a band of this genre.
But where can they go after this album - from already having pushed their sound
to a different level to other bands, will the next album be as well executed as
this? (No pressure guys, I’m just really looking forward to the release of new
material.)
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