Royal Bangs Albums (3)
What The Critics Say
For their second album, the Royal Bangs are back on Patrick Carney's Audio Eagle label, and their sound is, if anything, even more insane than it was the first time around. The band's basic modus operandi is set out on "War Bells," the album's opening track: it's trashily electro-infused guitar rock, with (ironically?) intense, clenched-throat vocals and (definitely ironic) Ronettes-style handclaps. "Poison Control" opens with a lick lifted directly from Gang of Four, but then slides slyly into a brilliantly poppy chord progression. Lead singer and keyboardist Ryan Schaefer sounds a bit like he's trying to channel Bono on this song, a tendency that creeps in elsewhere from time to time but doesn't generally become strong enough to distract. What does start to grate after a while is the general messiness and occasional claustrophobia of the band's overall sound, but that may be a conscious production decision based on the high likelihood that these songs will be listened to almost exclusively as compressed MP3s. With that in mind, the grungy funk and world percussion bedlam of "My Car Is Haunted" and the queasy guitar sound on "Brainbow" both make a little more sense, and the startlingly pretty "Waking Up Weird" is even more startling. ~ Rick Anderson, All Music Guide
'We Breed Champions'
Release Date 5/13/2008
Tracks 10
Label Audio Eagle
See Album Tracklist and Review
'Julius Vampire Breath'
Release Date 1/1/2004
Tracks 12
Label Royal Bangs
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
After two records as part of the Suburban Urchins, lead singer/guitarist Ryan Schaefer takes his new outfit, the Royal Bangs, in the same exuberant indie rock direction on Julius Vampire Breath. Evoking the likes of Pavement, Broken Social Scene, Lennon and McCartney, and Radiohead, this Knoxville-based outfit fuses raw, cathartic rock & roll with technology and cleverness, yielding a stellar surprise of an album. If you're looking for rock that blips, rattles, and rolls, anthems like "Robotic Spiders Inside Your Secret Eye (Oh Darlin')" and "Birds Make Lousy Conversation" are aces. ~ John D. Luerssen, All Music Guide
