Album Review – The Royal Concept

Review — By Ashlee Bardin on 06/08/12

“We’ll be looking forward to the upcoming months but in the mean time, this will tide us over for a good while…”

The Royal Concept | The Royal Concept EP

Universal Republic’s newest Swedish group, The Royal Concept, have recently released their debut EP. This surprisingly hooky mini-album has already gotten the attention of many indie blogs and one of their songs has been one of the daily downloads on Rolling Stone. Starting in October, they pack their bags and head to North America to open for Wolf Gang. Big things beckon then for the group, with more soon to hop on The Royal Concept bandwagon yet.

One of the most prominent thoughts about this band is that they do, in fact, sound exactly like Phoenix, with a touch of the Strokes here and there. While that idea holds very true for their opening song ‘Gimme Twice’, delving further into the album provides the time to come to the conclusion that they do have their own equally addictive and unique sound.

The simple chorus of ‘Gimme Twice’ is one of its best. In it, David Larson yells, “You go OH! S-s-say you come and say it out loud, so they all can hear: I’m the one, I’m the one, I’m the one, I’m the one for you.” The lyrics and fun guitar riffs serve as an exciting yell-it-out pop-strut. ‘Goldrushed’ keeps the hopeful nature of the album alive with lyrics, “I always end up kissing you then miss you even more and more. I always mess it up. I never got it right not even once. You tell me I’m a liar that I can’t decide which way to go, but in the end you like me” fitting the ever-so-slightly melancholic cancas, the kick and guitar leading up to the climax of the chorus, its closing line.

During ‘In the End’, Larson pines, “And you get terrified and think about the big black sky…. And in the end you’re on your own.” shifting to the synthesizer and a far gloomier mood. While by no means a turkey – the lyrics are very well thought out – it’s serves as runt of the litter: for some, it’s their favorite, while others would prefer to have the stronger, heart-pounding optimism that flows from the first two tracks of the EP. It does however, showcase a darker side that could be an interesting exploratuon for the group.

Make no bones though, The Royal Concept have made a wonderful EP and it’s definitely the start of an exciting adventure for the band. We’ll be looking forward to the upcoming months to see what else they give us, but in the mean time, this will tide us over for a good while.