Mad Visions doesn’t quite hit the same heights, but is worth a listen for its bass line alone.

The Josh Homme-produced Boilermaker, though, provides immediate – and heavy – relief, lifting matters with an instantly likeable, grotty rock club banger. It’s a song that will fit perfectly into the middle of a live set – more intriguing than rousing openers or closers, but enough of an anthem to keep fans pumped up.Īfter such a strong opening, the two tracks that follow are something of a disappointment, as Limbo and Either You Want It attempt the same trick but with less aplomb. The duo have spoken about how their latest effort draws on material they wrote for a pre-fame band, Flavour Country, and it’s this track, with its echoes of Daft Punk, that provides the best marriage of their return to these roots. Who Needs Friends is the first hint that Typhoons is heading in a slightly different, more contemplative direction than the garage rock that’s made Royal Blood stars, and Million to One confirms this. Things don’t let up in what follows: the rip-roaring Oblivion and the album’s title track, which drummer Ben Thatcher drives forward with a marching rhythm.

Lead single Trouble’s Coming opens the record in infectious form, building from early sparse Jack White-esque to a more synth-heavy climax possessing admirable depth. Their latest album, Typhoons showcases a band keen to embrace a more synth-driven sound – but one that keeps their old edge, thanks to Mike Kerr’s striking falsetto and sharp bass lines. Unlike some of their peers, they did so with few concessions to the prevailing soulful, more electronic winds, and thus were a refreshing throwback to a time when the likes of The White Stripes and Queens of the Stone Age dominated student pub jukeboxes across Britain.

In an age when rock is often declared “dead” as a mainstream pop concern, Royal Blood have been intent on bucking the trend, with two number one albums and their 2014 single Figure It Out gaining over 150 million listens on Spotify alone.

Royal blood album reviews