10 Best Rock Albums Of 2021
6. Typhoons – Royal Blood
By their second album, Royal Blood had their song writing approach nailed down. Their appeal lay in their unique sound of hard hitting drum beats, augmenting, wildly fuzzed out bass riffs and menacingly cool vocals.
It was a formula that left an impression with two enjoyable, but fairly similar albums. Being limited by a drum kit and a bass guitar might have resulted in these guys becoming stale fast, however.
Their answer to this conundrum, was to lace their third album with a healthy dose of gothic-disco groove.
And it worked.
Royal Blood have lost none of their punch. The core of their sound hasn't changed, and they're still firmly centred around the squelchy bass and thick drums, but pilling on an '80s dance vibe, adds a new dimension to their sound.
Boilermaker was the obvious single from this record. It almost overshadows some of the other numbers, which is probably why it was placed towards the end of the track listing. Kicking the album off with something that explosive would have been hard to follow up, but the band have benefited from some savvy album structuring.
Typhoon addresses concerns that these guys might be limited in their sound. They've tweaked the formula just enough to keep things fresh while retraining their uniqueness.