From Hard Rock Headbangers to Disco Dance-Rockers: Royal Blood “Typhoons” Review
At the helm of modern British rock music is Royal Blood, a duo from Brighton consisting of vocalist/bassist Mike Kerr and drummer Ben Thatcher. Widely known for their hard-hitting rock sound and Kerr’s unique bass technique, in which he uses several effect pedals and multiple amps, Royal Blood topped the UK charts with their first two albums, their self-titled debut in 2014 and How Did We Get So Dark? in 2017. Nearly four years after their last release, they’re back with Typhoons, a rebellious record that fuses elements of hard rock, garage rock, and… disco?
The album opens with the lead single “Trouble’s Coming.” The drums set the tone early with a beat that makes you want to strut down the streets like a badass. The final chorus contains a crescendo lead-up to the loud outro of the song, hinting that trouble is indeed coming. Opening the album with a strong dance-rock track like “Trouble’s Coming” immediately tells the listener that this is unlike anything that Royal Blood has done in the past.
The disco vibes continue in the subsequent tracks “Oblivion” and “Typhoons.” The former track contains elements of disco in the drums with the kick drum hitting on every beat. Kerr showcases his vocal ability by using falsetto in the pre-chorus and chorus of the song. “Oblivion” also contains soulful female backing vocals during the second verse of the song. “Typhoons” includes a similar use of female vocals during the intro of the track with a siren-like “typhooooons.” The album marks the first release after Kerr’s journey towards sobriety and the song’s lyrics talk about Kerr’s use of alcohol:
'Cause all these chemicals //Dancing through my veins // They don't kill the cause // They just numb the pain
“Who Needs Friends” briefly departs from the strong disco influences of the previous songs in favor of a more straightforward hard rock sound. The opening line “Slip inside my sick dream” immediately made me think of fellow British rockers Oasis and their 1995 hit “Don’t Look Back in Anger” with its opening line “Slip inside the eye of your mind.” While Royal Blood has yet to reach the level of success that Oasis had, with two number-one albums and a killer rock track in “Who Needs Friends,” they have the potential to be the successors of one of the best-selling bands of all time.
The following track, “Million and One,” was the first track that really brought out Royal Blood’s Daft Punk influence. The song opens with a techno-like synth and is followed by a filtered bass effect that reminded me of Daft Punk’s “Aerodynamic.” The French electronic music duo has been a long-time influence on Royal Blood, and in a 2017 interview, Kerr stated that much of their sound is based on the question “What would Daft Punk do if they wrote a rock tune?”. Royal Blood perfected the answer to that question with “Million and One.”
“Limbo,” one of my two favorite tracks on the album, returns to their disco influence. The song opens with an intro that sounds almost entirely like a disco track with no rock elements whatsoever, before transitioning into the hard-hitting fuzz bass and drum sound that Royal Blood fans are familiar with. Kerr kicks off the track with some incredibly badass lyrics in the first verse that contrast with the disco elements of the song:
Wake up every morning // Almost surprised I survived // Blood on the pillow, tears in my eyes // Slept in a murder scene last night
Lasting a minute and 38 seconds, the outro of “Limbo” consists of a key change and a Daft Punk-esque filtered bass effect similar to the one in “Million and One.”
“Either You Want It” stands out within the album. From a distorted sliding bassline, to bouncy and poppy keyboard rhythms as well as odd drum and bass syncopation, the track can seem confusing at some points. Royal Blood’s sound is influenced by British rock band Muse, and the bridge of “Either You Want It” reminded me a lot of Muse’s latest album Simulation Theory, which was also heavily synth and dance-inspired.
My favorite track off of Typhoons, “Boilermaker” marks another departure from the album’s disco influence for a heavier rock sound. The band debuted the track two years prior to the album’s release during their 2019 set at Reading Festival. In a similar fashion to “Trouble’s Coming,” this track has that “strut like a badass” feel due to the bouncy drum beat and the simple, yet hard-hitting bassline. The song’s music video, directed by and starring Liam Lynch, emphasizes this with Lynch strutting towards the camera like a badass wearing a variety of masks and outfits throughout the entire video.
“Mad Visions” and “Hold On” are dance-rock tracks that continue the themes of Kerr’s journey to sobriety. In the former song, Kerr talks about hallucinating due to drug use. He feels as if he is “not alone” since he can see the images that aren’t there, but he truly is alone. “Hold On” acts as a response to “Mad Visions,” with the lyrics talking about not giving up:
I know your world's shakin' // Body and mind's breakin' // Catch yourself, don't fail to the ground // Life is hard when you're losin' // Nothin' easy's worth doing // Save yourself, don't throw in the towel
The final track, “All We Have is Now,” is incredibly different from the rest of the album. No distorted bass. No drums. Just Kerr’s vocals accompanied by a soulful piano. The reverb on the vocals gives off the feeling of Kerr singing a bittersweet song to an empty arena.
Adopting the electronic sounding elements of groups such as Daft Punk and Justice, Royal Blood exceeded my expectations and successfully combined it with their typical hard rock style. Although some may be skeptical about the duo’s venture into dance-rock and disco, Typhoons will surprise old fans and welcome new ones with tracks that hit harder than anything else that the two-piece band has released before.