![]() They’ll give a bit more shimmer to the edges of Mike Kerr’s shapeshifting bass on Oblivion, or on Limbo where they feel fully cribbed from Deadmau5’s Ghosts ‘n’ Stuff (which is a compliment, for the record), it makes for probably the most driving and kinetic song on the album. At best, there’ll be an extra instrumental dimension brought in by the added synths and electronics to prop things up and feel a little less barebones, and the generally grittier texture to them reminiscent of synthwave at times feels like a stable choice. What can be faulted, though, is how they stand up to some of the new layers of polish around them which, to put it nicely, can be an exercise in trying to make what already feels conceptually hit-or-miss work. It’s to be expected when they’re a band solely comprised of a rhythm section, but regardless of everything else, that carving momentum that drives the majority of these songs can’t really be faulted. It still feels really limited regardless of what they’ve done, which might just be baked into the band at this stage, but becomes so much more glaring when they’re skirting around it instead of actively rectifying it.īut even with all of that in mind, it’s a good thing that the unequivocal positive about Royal Blood’s music still remains, that being the ear for a groove that makes up a sizable chunk of their appeal all by itself. That in itself brings up a crop of new issues that the duo have stumbled into, but it doesn’t make for the most enlightening discussion when a mild augmentation of what they’ve already got is the extent that Royal Blood are willing to go. But after listening to Typhoons, it feels as though all they’ve done is throw some gloss and glitter on top of everything that was already there and called it a day. ![]() When they were getting stale after just two albums, some form of galvanising force was always going to be welcome, however they brought it in. Prior to anything though, it’s worth mentioning that it is possible to appreciate Royal Blood’s path without actually liking the music. They aren’t an act that pride themselves on being diverse, clearly, and drilling as deeply into another sound that can be just as simplistic (not to mention one that feels specifically designed to curry favour in a modern musical climate) doesn’t bode well for any longevity they want to cultivate. ![]() ![]() It’s worth noting that Trouble’s Coming wasn’t a bad lead single to showcase this, but it gave the impression that this would be another rigid formula that the duo would stick to. And thus, Typhoons rings as the most obvious pivot imaginable, where the tighter, more glaringly contemporary grooves have wormed their way in for Royal Blood to take a stab at being ‘trendy’. They were part of the Britrock furniture, likely being able to lock in big tours and festival appearances on residual momentum, but never being able to capitalise on it in as meaningful a way. When How Did We Get So Dark? failed to light anything close to the same fire under anyone by just going through the same formula, that felt like a clear, set-in-stone moment when public opinion on Royal Blood went from adulation to nonplussed acknowledgement. The singles from that album still remain generally agreeable, as a meatier, groove-driven version of in-vogue 2010s garage-rock, but the overall downturn has been on the cards for a while now. Carrying themselves like the biggest and best band in the world at their height was all well and good, but it’s also worth remembering that their hugely acclaimed debut came at a lucrative time for power-duos, where Royal Blood’s bass-and-drums setup was enough to eke out a place just forward of the pack. There’s always been an inevitability surrounding Royal Blood and how their rise wasn’t to last.
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