There’s nothing wrong with that, the beat provided by the drum makes up for the rather weak chorus, repeating “I hear trouble coming”, starts to wear thin on a second listen-through. House party cannon fodder, the sort of song that will warm a room up with its easy beat and clear lyrics, leaving even the most incoherent and drunken messes to sing along with a standard set of alternating choruses and verses. They’ve managed to turn something that shouldn’t work all that well into a song that will, at the very least, be worth a few plays from time to time. Royal Blood scrape together a palatable song that far exceeds their previous works. Still, like any old habit, it will die off eventually. Royal Blood appears to be grifting their fans with yet another test of endurance as they rattle off verses about struggling with psychosis and letting it take hold, still firmly rooted in their grim, alternative rock influences. Upon further inspection, though, it becomes clear that whilst the sounds may have altered slightly, the lyrics are still as standard as you’d expect. Darker musings can be found in the writing itself, but the presentation is overtly blasé about this rather sudden change in musical direction. I could’ve told you rather easily that the shift from stoner rock to glam rock was a positive choice, and it seems Royal Blood are happy to engage with this new style of confident, hopeful music-making.Ĭonsidering the contents of the lyrics, Trouble’s Coming is surprisingly upbeat and chirpy. ![]() It’s a shame, but their latest single, Trouble’s Coming looks set on rectifying the issues of old, taking a completely new stance and musical style. I don’t deny their talents, but they seem to wallow in mediocrity far too often, and it seeps onto their albums like a nauseous stain on an otherwise consistent, well-mixed piece of work. For anyone who loses sleep at night fearing that Rock is dead, Royal Blood offers more than a little hope.After a rather mediocre self-titled debut album and a follow-up so ill-advertised I’d forgotten of its existence, Royal Blood has had a rather shaky six-year start in the music business. Drenched in sweat by the show’s end, they had given Toronto a solid hour of their passion and talent. Kerr and Thatcher worked hard for the accolades they hoped to earn from their audience. The music is heavy enough to elicit fist pumping and pogoing, yet with enough of a pop hook that you want to sing along. Regardless of who you think you hear, that’s a lot of sound coming from just two men with two instruments. Sonically, there are glimpses of The White Stripes, the Offspring, Led Zeppelin, Muse and Kings of Leon. They play every song with all guns blazing and every tune evokes cool bands that went before. They are a good dose of 90s alt rock with 70s mega-band attitude. Royal Blood draws its sound from the harder edged rock bands of past eras. They started with Where Are You Now?, then moved to Lights Out and Figure It Out. They came to the stage full of energy and determination. ![]() The band is actually a duo made up of drummer Ben Thatcher and frontman/bassist, Mike Kerr. ![]() Perhaps it is exactly this environment that fueled Royal Blood’s need to be loud, to be heard. The British rockers hail from Brighton, a seaside town that conjures images of quiet beach walks and quaint cafes. West and the surprise guest turned out to be Royal Blood. ![]() A crowd gathered at The Velvet Undergound on Queen St. The mystery factor is meant to add to the experience, and it works. Toronto alt rock station 102.1 the Edge’s offers their Edge Secret Thing series inviting listeners to such a show – but the artist is not known. It’s a standard radio station promotional idea to offer listeners an exclusive concert with a favourite artist in an intimate venue.
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