Royal Blood are a British  rock duo formed in Brighton in 2013, consisting of bassist/singer Mike Kerr and drummer Ben Thatcher. Their debut album ‘Royal Blood’ was released in 2014 and received much critical acclaim. The album was the fastest selling British rock album in the UK for three years, and was nominated for the 2014 Mercury Prize (alongside previously featured Jungle).

The song Out of the Black is the very first song on the album. With a sound very similar to the older English rock band Muse, there’s a natural feel to their songs that can be rare to find in modern music. That is probably down to the album largely being recorded without use of samples, and most of the songs being recorded in one take rather than stitching together many takes. This song in particular is not necessarily the grittiest of rock songs – probably due to the light-hearted vocals by Kerr – but there is real emotion in this and the guitar sounds help carry that. However, It’s the constant drumming for me that makes the song. Easily overlooked among the vocals and the catching guitar sounds, but expertly performed by Ben Thatcher and a vital cog for this piece.

As you would expect from an album nominated for the Mercury Prize, Royal Blood is full of good songs! In particular check out Figure it Out and Come on Over, if you like this then you won’t be disappointed!

Have a great week, and a very happy new year to you all!