ROYAL BLOOD – Royal Blood (2014 Warner Music Japan, three bonus tracks)
Bass and drum duos are all the rage, but it’s all about the songs. You can do a lot with just those two instruments as it turns out. Royal Blood’s palette of sound is also of the bass and drum duo persuasion, and they have the songs too. Their 32 minute (43 minute on the Japanese with bonus tracks) debut album has enough good tunes that you won’t notice there are only two guys playing. The tunes are all short, tight and to the point.
Mike Kerr (bass, vocals) and Ben Thacker (drums) have been praised by luminaries such as Jimmy Page for this fine debut album. When someone like Jimmy Page excitedly declares he’s a fan, I don’t care who you are — you gotta check them out. Royal Blood composed a series of tightly arranged riffy songs, with some serious heft. Riffs such as the one on “Come on Over” sound nothing at all like bass. Kerr squeals high notes out of his bass like it’s nothing, all while pouring it all into his singing simultaneously. The dude possesses the pipes necessary to infect his songs full of angst.
Check out the tense “Figure it Out”, their best single so far. Thacker keeps himself busy on the drums, working with the song not against it. Everything these guy do serves the song. “Figure it Out” had to be one of the best rock singles of 2014, expertly crafted for maximum rigidity and plutonium hooks. Every song delivers sturdy riffs, understated vocal melodies, and plenty of taut rock action.
The songs are on such a level that only a few stand out above the others. “Figure it Out” is the obvious one, but a few others impress as highlights. “Little Monster” (also a single) isn’t forgettable, and “Ten Tonne Skeleton” immediately reminded me of Them Crooked Vultures. “Loose Change” shakes things up by going slightly funky with some electronic drum effects. These guys don’t waste their time farting around. They slam you with the riffage, bang bang bang, and they’re done. Of course with a band of this configuration, the songs are composed with plenty of space between the instruments, and that adds to the heft of it all.
When the CD ends after “Better Strangers” we are treated to three Japanese bonus tracks. “Hole” is from the first Royal Blood EP Out of the Black. Its slow Soundgarden-Nirvana grunge is notably less crisp sounding than the album at large, but holy cow — this is heavy shit! Right out of 1992. “You Want Me” was lifted from the single for “Come on Over”. This is upbeat hard rocking fun. The final track “Love and Leave it Alone” is from the “Figure it Out” single, and it may be one of the best songs here. It’s interesting that the bonus tracks offer more variety than the album itself, which is a good enough reason to own them. Each of these tracks is different and deliciously good.
Get some Royal Blood in ya.
4/5 stars
mikeladano.com 
I’ve seen this at the record store soany times, and always thought about it but never brought it home. Now maybe I will.
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Why not? It’s only money, and if the price is right…?
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Come on down?
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Speaking of singles, I am surprised they are still a thing. Every year it seems there are less and less.
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When researching, I found that most of these singles were vinyl releases, 7″.
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I believe North America would pail behind Europe, and maybe even just Britain in terms of singles sales.
They never seemed as popular here, but even more so today.
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I would find the study of singles sales on different formats over the years to be interesting.
A graph may look like the downlope of Mt. Everest though
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Wow! I heard Figure it out when it came out, but I had no idea it was just bass and drums.
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I know eh? You really do hear it as guitar, until you know it’s not!
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This is cool, I wanna check it out. First time I became aware of a band doing this (just drums, a bass guitar and vocals) was when we saw Big Business open for Tool on the 10,000 Days tour. I gotta be honest, I didn’t like them, it was just noise (and I like a lot of things that are just noise!). I’ll happily take the recommend on a good act, though! Thanks!
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I meant Big Business was just noise. Tool was awesome. Natch.
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Gotcha! I figured that’s what you meant. I never heard of Big Business. I suppose with drums, bass and voice you could make a lot of noise. I’m glad Royal Blood didn’t go that route! It’s about the spaces between as much as the heavy bass.
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Big Business is these people:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Business_(band)
By that write-up, I should have loved them, but live in Copps Coliseum they were just all “YAARRRGYARRR BLARRRRRG!! and noisy noise. Good energy, but meh.
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I’ve struggled to get into these folks. Think maybe the hype has been the reason I just haven’t really dug them. Too many folks saying they are the best new thing. Some good grooves for sure, but something’s amiss (don’t say guitar!). Might revisit, though.
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Fair enough! Over here there is no hype at all. I wouldn’t call them the best new thing, but certainly not a bad new thing. Hype can really sour it though can’t it? If you’ve heard the songs a zillion times…
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It can, yeah. Often left disappointed when what you’re hearing is a tad ordinary. If you have space for another drum and bass driven combo, may I recommend The Fire And I? They’re pretty great.
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I’ve totally avoided this lot because they’re being so hugely hyped over here.
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I think Scott told me this as well. If he corroborates you and J, then it MUST be true.
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What a triumvirate! Sort of like the Avengers but with less Scarlett Johansson and more vinyl.
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Songs trump gimmicks for me every day – so glad to hear the songs hold up here regardless of how many people are/aren’t playing!
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