Music review: Royal Blood

Album cover for Royal Blood.

Royal Blood
Royal Blood

It can't be too easy to come up with something fresh and exciting in rock -- when you think that everything's already been done.

And Brighton rock duo Royal Blood do come with a fair serving of retro homage.

At times on this debut album you'll hear hints of the cool style of Queens of the Stone Age, the swagger of White Stripes, the emotion of Wolfmother (plus all those seminal acts Wolfmother owe their sound to), the overblown antics of Muse and even nods to grunge-era acts such as Soundgarden, Pearl Jam and Stone Temple Pilots.

But easy comparisons do Royal Blood a disservice.

There's a lot to like here, particularly the singles like the powerful Out of the Black, which hammers its way into your consciousness from the opening bars (your head will reel by the end of it), and the catchy soft-loud-soft-loud Little Monster.

But, really, every track's a winner, though you'll feel brutalised after the album's rapid-fire 32 minutes.

Royal Blood is a wake-up call to rock.