Ben Thatcher

Week 35: Royal Blood- Back to the Water Below

~ honestopinions19 ~ Leave a comment

The duo played a few songs on Later…with Jools Holland back in May, and ‘Mountains’ stood out, which showed that this was an album to look forward to. Contrary to what occurred at BBC’s 1 Big Weekend festival, where Mike and Ben showed their disdain at the crowd for not giving their performance enough attention, their teasing of the record on Jools’ show showed that that would be water under the bridge as the duo still had the sound that everyone fell in love with in the last decade.

This is the Brighton duo’s fourth studio album, and despite being short, I enjoyed it. I have heard indifferent opinions on the record. My only complaint is it was far too short at 31 minutes 22 seconds( Even the bonus tracks see it under 40 minutes.). Still, at the same time, the duo appear to be taking it back to the days when a single played on the radio was extremely short (Usually just under 3 minutes or barely over.). The album is also their debut in producing their music, which has borne fruit. It is not because it has obviously hit the top of the chart, but because the songs are good. One of the factors of Royal Blood experimenting in the studio was there was no one to tell them to play it safe.

There are plenty of influences of the late David Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust-era on ‘the Firing Line’ and the Beatles during their psychedelic phase. We then have funk on ‘High Water’ and the usual metal sound on ‘Shiner in the Dark’. There are even quieter moments with piano ballads—something which we are unfamiliar with the duo.

I loved the guitar solo on ‘There Goes My Cool’. The album is an eclectic mix of sounds that has inspired Mike and Ben at some point in their lives, and we are only starting to hear it now the duo have self-produced. Of course, there is the usual lull, which is found on every record you have ever heard during the middle, but overall, despite its short length, this was an excellent listen.

Song recommendations: ‘the Firing Line’, ‘There Goes My Cool’, ‘Everything’s Fine’

8/10

Week Twenty-Five: Royal Blood- How Did We Get So Dark?

~ honestopinions19 ~ Leave a comment

3122z6I7KML

The incredible thing about the Sussex duo (Brighton, to be precise.) is that they only started in 2013 and, over a year later, released the self-titled debut album that instantly catapulted them from unknowns to established artists on the back of a concise journey on their way there. It is some record, as I have never heard of any artist, let alone a band, making it to the top in such little space after their formation. They were instantly successful, as few metal rock bands were coming through in the mainstream. 

Well, certainly not from the United Kingdom and Ireland, anyway. The biggest surprise is that they still stand alone with their in-your-face metal rock. Usually, an act like this inspires several others to come through with the same sort of sound (I can only think of Abadden, who are much, much heavier.), but for some reason, it didn’t appear to happen. The first thing that struck me about them is how far technology has come, and Mike Kerr can make a bass squeal like a lead guitar. If you learned about this and listened to them without seeing anything, you would assume that Mike plays lead/rhythm guitar rather than bass.

The trouble is, where would they go with their second album sonically? Although having fans like Noel Gallagher got people to listen to them, you can’t see them doing anything like the space jazz-inspired “Riverman” featured on Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds’ second album, “Chasing Yesterday”, could you? But what was in store on “How Did We Get So Dark”? They certainly didn’t go the space jazz, cosmic pop or psychedelic rock route. However, although it may be more of the same as their debut album, this record is still original—another 40-minute metal rock record that decimates your eardrums with some rather bizarre choices in direction.

The biggest surprise on the record that features “Lights Out”, “I Only Lie When I Love You”, and the album track “How Did We Get So Dark?” is a hip-hop element in “Sleep”. The stand-out track for me has to be the frantic “I Only Lie When I Love You”, which in metaphorical terms, sounds like the duo is fighting against tidal waves as they try their best to swim through.

Although this record may be more mature than the previous one, we still absorb Mike Kerr’s lyrics about a relationship that has faded away and gradually unravels throughout the record. We start with Mike being besotted with songs like “Hook, Line & Sinker” to the heartbreaking moments of “Hole in Your Heart”. Let’s face it, with an album title of “How Did We Get So Dark?”, you weren’t expecting an upbeat album talking about fluffy clouds and bouncy castles, were you? The record may not tread any new ground with creativity, but it has very well-executed production and songwriting. Does it beat their self-titled debut album? Even though Messrs Mike Kerr and Ben Thatcher have shown some new direction with a bit of funk and hip-hop, it still has a very tough act to follow. For Me, “Why Did We Get So Dark?” does not stand up to “Royal Blood”, but only time will tell if that’s the general view of the critics and listeners.

8/10