Album Review

Royal Republic:

Club Majesty

Right, so hear me out…

There’s this Swedish rock band, right, called Royal Republic. They’re really good – talented, high energy rockers. They’re like four albums deep when suddenly, out of nowhere, they decide to kick out a rock/disco fusion album called Club Majesty… and it’s the best thing ever.

This album was my introduction to Royal Republic, but I’ve since become a huge fan of their other stuff as well. There’s just something incredibly likeable about them. They’ve got this certain charm, an irreverence, a panache, one of those je ne sais quoi type things. I even wrote in my notes for this review that if I met somebody that didn’t like them even just a little bit I’d find it quite hard to trust that person. There would just be something off about them, like people who don’t like dogs or funk. This album especially is an absolute rip-roaring fun-coaster from start to finish. With lyrics so cheesy and stylised that they’re kind of hilarious, simple but catchy guitar and bass riffs guaranteed to keep that ass shaking all night long, and vocal hooks of such incredible ear-worminess that you’ll still be humming them to yourself as you go to sleep, how could anybody not love it?

The singer’s vocals have this syruppy quality, sweet and moreish, which perfectly compliments the tone of the album. As he belts out each line with evident joy, I just can’t help but crack a smile and tap my feet to the rhythm of the tune. The guitar has a full and warm tone, not too tinny or distorted. The riffs are fast and punchy and full of that blues scale goodness. They’ve got that juicy funk bass sound that never gets old, drums that slap, and all these qualities fuse together to create one of the most purely ecstatic musical experiences I can imagine. It makes you want to dance, to fuck, to roller-skate even. It’s the perfect pre-cursor to a night out or soundtrack to a house party. It would even be great to work out to. Show it to your friends, your teachers, your band-mates, and your mum. It’s fun. Fun, fun, fun! A massive dollop of fun sauce on top of the world’s biggest chocolate fundae, slathered with extra creamy funberry icecream and a funflake. Just funning listen to it for fun sake.

I think this is going to be a really short review, to be honest. That’s about all I’ve got.

Clearly I would recommend this album to anybody. Please let me know what you thought down below. If you want to hear a long form discussion of this and also Verminous by The Black Dahlia Murder, then look no further than here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=587gBGgJOTY&t=1s. And if you find after listening to it that you didn’t like this album, please, for your own sake, take a long hard look at your life and invest some serious time into figuring out where it all went wrong. Reconnect with your loved ones. Rekindle old relationships. Invest in some self-care. Spend a day away from the internet and go for a long walk in the countryside. Smoke a big doink. Watch the clouds pass you by and take in the sounds and smells of this wondrous reality. Commune with nature, dig deep, and ask yourself ‘For God’s sake, why am I such a massive killjoy?’.

I’m giving this one a 9 out of 10 (bumped it up slightly from the score I gave it on the podcast cos my reasons were dumb).

Thanks for reading!

Written – June 2020

Published – June 2020

Photo by Haley Lawrence on Unsplash