The essential components of Kerr’s bass and Thatcher’s drums that make up the crucial formula of Royal Blood is so satisfying to hear after their short time away and as formulaic as the intro may be at first glance, the high energy and the heavy Queens of the Stone Age-esque blues-rock nuances are still present. Here are my thoughts on the new Royal Blood single, ‘Lights Out’! It’s been nearly three years since many of us were left wanting more and now with their forthcoming sophomore LP, HOW DID WE GET SO DARK?, finally unveiled to the world, the excitement builds again for, what is looking to be, another blistering Royal Blood album. You’d also be happy to know – as if the title of this review didn’t give it away already – they have returned with a brand new single, and let me tell you: I have been looking forward to this moment since the end of 2014. This sound isn’t available to just anybody it’s a sound that’s quintessentially, exclusive to, and made incredibly possible by, of course, Royal Blood, the rock duo that comprises of Mike Kerr (bass) and Ben Thatcher (drums) and who provided an eponymous debut that quickly became one of my most favourite albums of 2014. From the metallic Muse-aping “Figure It Out” to a vitriolic “Out Of The Black”, tonight Royal Blood sound as brawny, focused and as arena-sized as the venues they'll no doubt be selling out when they next return.There’s not many artists and bands who could say that they had such a blistering success with their debut album – let alone with just a skeletal bass-guitar-and-drum-kit setup – and if you ever thought that such bare instrumentation wasn’t enough to support a real sound for anybody, then you are probably half-right. On the whole though, despite augmenting the set with a drum solo and bass solos which show exactly what one can do when its turbo-charged to sound like a guitar, there isn't an inch to pinch in the set. It adds a new dimension to their otherwise juggernaut sound that revels in taut simplicity, Mike even hammering out the intro to "Hole In Your Heart" on a keyboard. Their second album How Did We Get So Dark? was slinkier and sexier than it's raw, self-titled predecessor and the groovy “She's Creeping” and “Hook Line & Sinker” are more roll than rock. Genuinely overwhelmed at the scenes before them, the pair mouth a disbelieving "fuuuuuuuck" to each other. After some high profile support slots and two incendiary Glasto performances, they've found themselves gazing out into this vast room. The duo, Mike and drummer Ben Thatcher, have come a long way in a short space of time. At one point bassist and frontman Mike Kerr has to stop the gig to prevent a crush. As Royal Blood kick into muscular opener “Lights Out”, surrounded by a cage of lasers and backed by huge screens, the duo spark a tangle of riff-chanting, pogoing bodies that lasts the entire evening. It's pretty clear though that the crowd are hankering for meaty, rather than squalling, grooves. But even crummy sound can't suppress the El Paso quintet whose primal, white-hot energy on “Enfilade” and “Cosmonaut” is burning bright enough to propel them through the majestic glass ceiling. Tonight, the band fall prey to the Ally Pally curse - their fragmented post-hardcore idiosyncrasies and sonic acrobatics are lost in the venue's cavernous space. When this writer saw the band at Leeds festival earlier this year, it was a sullen performance that failed to connect with the audience. Up next, eschewing sweetness for chaos, At the Drive-In are the outliers on tonight's bill. “Dig” and “Hello Today” are amped-up, vintage Americana, replete with a dash of Hole, a splash of Wolf Alice and sprinkling of Best Coast, equal parts sugar and spike. Fellow Brightonians Black Honey kick off proceedings with their breezy grunge.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |