Brighton duo Royal Blood catapulted onto the UK rock scene in 2014 with their critically acclaimed self titled debut album and went on to storm the many summer festivals.
Such was the sudden popularity of the group they were awarded a slew of industry awards in 2015 from NME, Kerrang and the Brits, made an appearance at the MTV Music Awards, toured as support for the Foo Fighters and even impressed the great Jimmy Page! Their first album was a meaty onslaught of heavy distorted bass guitar and fat chunky drumbeats crammed in to a short and sweet 10 tracks. What was most surprising is that this sound came from only two musicians. All in all, pretty impressive stuff when you consider that frontman Mike Kerr and drummer Ben Thatcher only formed the band in 2013. After a couple of years of solid touring, it’s time to see if the success of the first time round can be repeated…
How Did We Get So Dark? is the second studio album by British rock duo Royal Blood.
The first impressions that come to mind when listening to opening track “How Did We Get So Dark?” are that in some ways the formula hasn’t changed from the first album; heavily layered bass guitar and powerful drums. However, after a couple of songs it’s evident that there’s been a distinct shift in the song writing. Whereas the first album saw relatively straight-ahead rock songs brutally fused by the dual onslaught of bass and drums, HDWGSD? sees a slightly more accessible approach being taken. It’s subtle, but it’s there. It’s like someone has asked the band to be a little more “Arctic Monkeys/Kasabian-like”. This isn’t utterly surprising as the former is managed by the same company as Royal Blood.
Arrangements for the backing vocals are a little more imaginative, hooks are a little more melodic and the sound is a little less raw and more polished. None of these things are necessarily bad, but they are certainly noteworthy. Lead single “Lights Out” is a perfect example of how this new approach pays dividends. It’s a corker of track and soon gets the head bobbing and foot tapping, taking the best of the old whilst embracing fresh ideas. “I Only Lie When I Love You” is another great example with its pulsing rhythm, radio friendly hook and very welcome inclusion of a cowbell (cowbells rarely fail to make a rhythm better!). However, there are also examples where it seems the new approach has been overplayed such as “Look Like You Know” with its slightly too jaunty rhythm and “Where Are You Now?” feels like 2 riffs from separate songs pasted together. In the end though, the album hits more times than it misses and repeated listening only caused it to improve.
There’s enough good content on HDWGSD? for past fans to stay interested and for news ones to enjoy too. It just feels like the effortless cool that emanated from their first album has been slightly lost in translation when producing these new songs. Just like the first album it’s a quick listen with the 10 tracks averaging out at 3 and a half minutes each. Unfortunately the phrase “Quality over quantity” doesn’t quite ring true like it did before. Still, it’s definitely worth a listen and there’s certainly more good stuff than bad on the whole. Though sacrificing character at times, HDWGSD? still manages to provide enough excitement to warrant a general thumbs up, just temper your expectations and don’t expect a flat out rock masterpiece.
Author: Steve, Bristol Store
