The Royal Heist

Midnight In The Garden Of Evil

Written by: PP on 02/08/2010 21:41:29

Los Angeles based The Royal Heist have timed their self-released sophomore album "Midnight In The Garden Of Evil" perfectly, at least if the plan is an attempt to flow with the recent mainstream success of Kings Of Leon. These boys specialize in a particularly dancefloor oriented indie rock that's sure to appeal to anyone who counts bands like The Killers, Kaiser Chiefs, Franz Ferdinand and Arctic Monkeys among their favorites, and they're actually not too bad at diversifying their expression to stand out from the crowd. They have a real asset in the form of their singer, who prefers a screamed yell instead of the typical mainstream-ready clean style that most other bands use, which gives him an ooze of arrogance just about strong enough to make him one of the most confident singers in the genre. He'll quickly remind you of the semi-chaotic delivery of the Foxy Shazam vocalist on their debut album, plus another famous vocalist whose affiliation I can't for the love of God remember even though the two sound just alike.

Another refreshing idea found within Royal Heist's music is the bass-guitar orientation. Instead of being merely assigned a supporting role, most songs see the bass guitar take the lead, providing all the beats and the groovy rhythms, while the guitar is just filling in where necessary. This has the effect of creating some rave-ready dance beats that are sure to kick ass in a live environment, plus it gives the songs a fuzzy, vibrant feel that has a certain no-frills energy to it. The funny thing is, this is mainstream indie rock at heart, but yet it feels chaotic like an underground punk venue in the middle of Camden in some places. Somehow the band is able to balance the two nicely, creating a niche for themselves, while still essentially sounding like the big guns in the genre. There are enough catchy rhythms and memorable chorus parts to feed an indie rock street team, so my guess is that a label contract can't be too far away right now.

Download: Lock And Load, Gallows, Take Take Take
For the fans of: Franz Ferdinand, Kings Of Leon, Foxy Shazam, Arctic Monkeys
Listen: Myspace

Release date 20.04.2010
Self-Released

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