Brighton's Royal Blood confirm new album release date
Band spokesman James Heward said: “After two UK number-one albums, two million album sales and an array of international acclaim, you might’ve thought you knew what to expect from Royal Blood.
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Hide Ad“Those preconceptions were shattered when they released Trouble’s Coming last summer. Hitting a melting pot of fiery rock riffs and danceable beats, they delivered something fresh, unexpected and yet entirely in tune with what they’d forged their reputation with.
“The reaction was phenomenal, with highlights including 20 million streams, a premiere as Annie Mac’s Hottest Record and a run on Radio 1’s A-list.
“It landed on the cover of Spotify’s flagship global rock playlist Rock This and earned alternative radio support and media attention across the globe. In short, Royal Blood are primed to be bigger than ever before. That feat is set to be realised when they release their eagerly-anticipated third album Typhoons on April 30 via Warner Records.
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Hide Ad“When Mike Kerr and Ben Thatcher sat down to talk about making a new album, they knew what they wanted to achieve. It involved a conscious return to their roots, back when they had made music that was influenced by Daft Punk, Justice and Philippe Zdar of Cassius. It also called for a similar back-to-basics approach to what had made their self-titled debut album so thrilling, visceral and original.
“Those traits pulsate throughout the new single and title track. Kerr’s spiralling bass riff casts an hypnotic allure as it grows in intensity while his vocals switch at will between a raw rock roar and a soulful falsetto. It’s underpinned by Thatcher’s thundering beats, his taut rhythms infused with groove-laden hi-hats.
“After setting the tone with Trouble’s Coming, the album opens in breathless, take-no-prisoners style with the fierce metallic grooves of Who Needs Friends hitting an early visceral peak. Royal Blood further reference their fresh array of influences by deploying vocodered vocals on Million & One before dynamically switching between the biggest contrasts of their sound with Limbo.
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Hide Ad“Already a fan favourite having been a regular during the duo’s 2019 shows, Boilermaker lives up to its reputation and is more than matched by Mad Visions, which evokes a hyper-aggressive Prince. It ends with a final surprise in the shape of the stark piano ballad All We Have Is Now, a vulnerable and revealing reminder to live in the moment.
“That song’s unguarded sentiments gives the album a redemptive finale. Whether directly or allusively, the album focuses on exploring the flipside of success that they’ve experienced.
“It comes from the realisation that success is much more complicated than it seems and that having the time to regain perspective is a precious commodity which becomes ever more elusive.
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Hide Ad“The situation called for reflection and change, which Kerr addressed in Las Vegas. He downed an espresso martini and declared it to be his last drink and soon discovered that his new-found sobriety would have a positive impact upon his creativity and life as a whole.
“That new approach manifested itself in the duo’s decision to produce the majority of Typhoons themselves. Boilermaker was produced by Queens of the Stone Age frontman Josh Homme, the two bands having first connected when Royal Blood supported them on a huge North American tour.
“Meanwhile, the multiple Grammy Award winner Paul Epworth produced Who Needs Friends and contributed additional production to Trouble’s Coming.”
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Hide AdTyphoons is now available to pre-order and will be released on digital, vinyl and CD formats. The official Royal Blood store offers a deluxe vinyl edition that will be limited to a one-time run of 8,000 copies worldwide. The deluxe edition features a translucent pink/opaque black 12” housed in a metallic foil gatefold sleeve, and will be packaged with an exclusive 7” single containing the extra track ‘Space’ and an etched b-side. It will be completed by a large format booklet and an individually numbered 12” art print with alternative art that’s exclusive to this set.
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