Grand Royale
Captured Live
The Sign Records
Rock and roll from Scandinavia isn’t always death metal. When these blond boys set out to rock, they can pound out melodic anthems with the best. Now, I get a ton of “over the transom” music, and while I aim to be fair, sometimes it’s a struggle. But then, the gods of rock and roll smile and they slip me a band like Grand Royal and restore my faith in modern music. Clean guitar riffs, intriguing vocal, and sharp lyrics for a base that supports a super energy and amazingly clear lyrics. So often lyrics get lost in that wall of sound, but these guys sing them out loud and clear, and they have content worth listening to. It’s not social commentary so much as young men hitting their stride and feeling good about it.
Interestingly, Grand Royal sounds a bit like ’90s fellow Swedish rockers the Hellacopters. In both cases, the energy infects you and its hard to sit down when they kick in the R&R engine. Sometimes it feels like the Swedish music scene is always looking to show it can do more than Abba pop ballads, and these guys have convinced me they can. I need to look up where Jönköping is close to; maybe its worth a plane ticket.
