Sexy?

Yes; this Swedish band Royal Republic are. From their hard charging, tightly wound 2010 debut ‘We Are The Royal’, this ball of Rock energy and winking fun has wanted to be florid.

Credit; Royal Republic

Mainman Adam Grahn, now sporting a ‘tasche that’s even bigger than my waxed effort, is a ringmaster, stand up comic and older friend who gets you into trouble when seen live. They seem keen to being the fun, cheeky and so easy to spend time with, they’ll how experiencing things you nevee would and never regretting it in the morning.

They were doing so well, growing album by album. And then something happened. Something that made fans stop and even stare.

Club Majesty.

The Funky Finery

I remember being lucky enough to interview Adam when this album arrived in 2019; it was a full day of interviews and as I was travelling to London from the North West, I was scheduled at 2pm.

And when I told Adam the album was phenomenal, he implied that I was the first journo to love it. And I did. The funk, the glitter, the spangly boa, this Soul, Groovy and very sexy album was an absolute delight.

But that was 5 years ago. And I worried that the furore over ‘Club Majesty’ had created an effect. That it made Riyal Republic more tentative, that it made Royal Republic less keen to release music, that, heaven forbid, Royal Republic might even have wanted to call it a day.

Credit: Counteract

The New Album

But no. Here we are. A new album. Called ‘LoveCop’. What a title. It’s a tease, at once Sci fi and Porno. It’s something Royal Republic should be.

And it’s brilliant. It takes the last album’s florid finery and takes back the gargantuan guitars. First track proper (we have an intro, an 80’s AOR saucepot) is ‘My House’, those tight guitars and bubbling synth underneath a simple chorus and stentorian rap; quite brilliant, as Kerrang seems to agree;

‘From the moment opener My House kicks in with its synth and sax-filled intro, it’s evident Royal Republic are determined to go camper and cheesier than ever before. Jumping between hair metal guitars, synth-pop beats and the occasional rapped vocal, it’s ludicrous but undeniably fun.’

You’ll get an ‘Undercover lover’ with a bass pulse and Rock bridge into a big beating middle with unbridled solo, that title track takes the breath away, but there’s even a touch of The Tubes in the glammy ‘Love Somebody’.

And for those craving the fast precision their very track first track ‘We Are The Royal’, ‘Ain’t Got Time’ has a howdy folks friendly vocal, big bass and tight guitaring and despite some Glam, becomes a simply enjoyable Electro Rock track.

We finally get the Chic-like guitars (they had to be there) in closer ‘Sha La-La-Lady’ with its powerchords, sweet groove and bedroom Soul rap and it’s a really cool way to leave.

One of the tracks here is called ‘Wow! Wow!Wow!’ and that’s quite right. For this spu theme feel, the added horns, the almost Exteme band chorus, the bongos and the fruity sax. But it could be applied to all tracks here, for there isn’t a bad ‘un. Tell us, Distorted Sound mag;

‘If it wasn’t clear already, ROYAL REPUBLIC are incredibly adept at delivering rock music in a multitude of its forms and at a high level to boot.’

Wow! Wow! Wow!

Royal Republic have done it again. Are they Rock? Soul? Funk? All those things and more besides. I love them and I love this sexy, superb album. ‘LoveCop’, read me my rights and take me down the station…