Royal Blood: How Did We Get So Dark?

The second album from the Brighton Duo is next up for review.

Side A opens with the albums title track. It’s the perfect opener for the record, it blended classic Royal Blood, pounding drums and crunching baselines. Staples of the debut album but the sound had developed with brilliant falsetto vocals, and a catchy pop chorus. ‘Lights Out’ is another stomper, it chugs along like a classic rock song but after 30 seconds. The dynamic changes the pace becomes frantic before slowing down again. One of the bands classics. ‘I Only Lie When I Love You’ sounds like it could be on the bands self titled debut and that’s a huge compliment it’s Royal Blood doing what they do best. Crunching rock music.
‘She’s Creeping’ is a rather haunting track, it sounds like it should be soundtracking the next big horror film. The bass is haunting and the drums help create a tense atmosphere. Falsetto vocals are used again to add a new dynamic to the lyrics.  ‘Look Like You Know’ ends Side A and is the most underrated track on the album, it’s pop music around a Royal Blood melody, the lyrics are catchy and the vocal infectious but the instrumentation is heavy hitting.

Side B opens with ‘Where Are You Now’ another hidden gem in the bands discography. The production on this track really elevates it. The dynamic changes throughout with Mike’s bass playing and Ben’s drumming, speeding things up or slowing things down. ‘Don’t Tell’ is both a look to the past and the future. The instrumentation is classic Royal Blood but Mikes vocal delivery, listening now almost gives us a little glimpse of what was to come on the next album ‘Typhoons.’ ‘Hook Line and Sinker’ picks up where ‘Out of the Black’ and ‘Ten Tonne Skelton’ left off and it’s brilliant. ‘Hole in Your Heart’ is the band experimenting with new ideas, it’s got a synth line instead of a bass riff. Something that would become a staple on the bands third album. Bass is used in the chorus to add a heavier feel and the powerful delivery. ‘Sleep’ ends the record and is another of my favourites, it’s an atmospheric track that builds and builds from a snarling riff. I think this vocal delivery may be Mike’s best it’s brilliant. He dips from low and slow  notes to high falsettos effortlessly.

A brilliant album.
Thanks for reading.