A duo hailing from Washington, D.C., Broke Royals have an interesting sound and feel – for just two people, they mix in a lush, rich, full cornucopia of sounds. They’ve been releasing a series of E.P.’s since 2014 and this is their first full length album. Elements of dance and electronica, rock and pop with crisp guitars, harmonies – in a way, it’s a good question as to whether or not you could classify them as a “band” per se or if they’re a “musical project”.
“Falling Up” contains all of the aforementioned ingredients in its sound and the vocal arrangements are tight; “As Long As I Can See” is definitely ear-marked as a single – it has that modern radio friendly sound (and definitely would fit somewhere on a television show or commercial); “Holy War” has throttle and some very nice harmonies and at moments, reminds me a little of a U2-styled track and “Cold” is the album’s highlight – a nice pop piece that has a ’70’s classicism about it while being completely modern-sounding (listen to the sound, structure and melody). “Heartless Come Around” goes to the next decade with an ’80’s synth-pop vibe but again, is catchy and upbeat; “Higher” has a quiet intensity and “On My Way” is one of those very familiar sounding “modern anthem” type songs.
Which is the one drawback of this album that makes me think it’s just “okay” – they rely too much on the “oh, whoa” riff throughout the majority of the songs. And that, unfortunately does make them sound a little too much like those not-as-good bands you hear in commercials and on television. But they’re on to something – they just need to refine and define who they are and what they want to be.
Broke Royals’ self-titled album will be released Friday, November 17th, 2017
http://www.brokeroyals.com/