How did I not discover these guys until now?!?? I literally found this band 5 minutes ago and I am currently amazed at how good they are. They are called Royal Bangs and are a 5 men out wanting to rock out of Knoxville, Tennessee. Their sound is combo of all that is rightous in old and new rock. It has hints of 90’s garage rock (Pavement ?) with a little bit of electronic mixed in here and there. Royal Bangs self released their debut album ‘We Breed Champions’ back in 2006, but in 2007 the drummer of the Black Keys signed them to his label Audio Eagle and re-released it this year. Oh man, I got to get my hands on the rest of this album.
The song ‘Brother’ was the first song I heard and WOW it is . It doesn’t waste anytime with 3 guitars thrashing away with some fast paced drumming. I moved onto ‘Broke Calculator’ which took a slower direction that ‘Brother’ but uses more electronics and vocal melodies. Another gem in my eyes. Then there is ‘Cat Swallow’ which has a really cool guitar line that continues throughout.
Royal Bangs have many things going for them. The songs are accessible, catchy, and have strong music/vocal quality. These guys know what they are doing. I would not be surprised to see them being hailed as the next Tapes ‘n tapes and riding the internet to Letterman. Maybe that is a bit too much to say for now, but their set at Bonnaroo and a strong debut album has earned them quite a bit of press. They are slowly building a following/hype machine and these guys may just be the next big thing. Once I get a copy of the album I will try to get a review up. Stream the songs below:
Royal Bangs – Broke Calculator (MP3)
Royal Bangs – Cat Swallow (MP3)
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