To celebrate the release of their huge new album ‘Typhoons‘, Royal Blood talked NME through the origin, inspiration and making of each and every song on the record. Watch it in the video above.
Gearing towards a sound more “euphoric, danceable and fun” allowed frontman Mike Kerr “a licence to be vulnerable, and confidence to be more revealing” – with a more colourful sound backing lyrics that detail his journey to sobriety after years of hedonism and the rock’n’ roll lifestyle took its toll. This is most evident on the title track, which the duo told us was like “being struck by lightning” when they first wrote it.
“It felt like the album was a game of boules and we were trying to get closer and closer to the target. ‘Typhoons’ was a bulls-eye moment,” Kerr told NME. “Lyrically, I felt like I’d hit the nail on the head with what I’d been trying to say. The vibe of it was just so fun and so colourful. It felt like rainbows were coming out of the speakers.
Of their more dancefloor-oriented sound, Kerr said that it provided something a level of “protection” for his lyrics. “It’s an odd counterpoint on paper, because usually with songs of that nature I’m singing about dancing or having fun. At first glance this song is pretty feel-good, then you actually listen to what I’m singing about and it’s like, ‘Jesus, Jesus, Jesus…’”
Watch our full track-by-track interview with the band above, where the duo go in deep on the process of working with Queens Of The Stone Age‘s Josh Homme, which song pushed them to the limit the most, and which number sounds like it could have been by Dua Lipa or Justin Timberlake…
In a four-star review of the album, NME concluded that “‘Typhoons’ is not only their best work to date, but all the better for Royal Blood being free to explore what they’re capable of,” adding that the record “shows what can really be achieved if you break your own walls down and let a little light in.”
‘Typhoons’ by Royal Blood is out now. The band will be embarking on a massive UK arena tour in 2022.
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