Robotic Rock

Listening to Royworld, or rather subsequently researching their many plaudits, confirmed one thing: that I’m no longer a part of the demographic at which modern indie-pop is being aimed. On the evidence of their debut album this comes as a bit of a relief.

Royworld have been bequeathed with the championing of Jo Whiley, whose opinion inexplicably carries more weight than my own. Whiley’s recommendation essentially sums up their appeal, as they’re pretty much par for the course insofar as Radio 1 playlists go. Joy for some, indifference to others, quietly burning rage for the rest.

A quick scan of the internet throws up numerous reference points, all of which are rattled off with a worrying lack of irony: Roxy Music (nope), Sparks (they wish), Talking Heads (ha!), Peter Gabriel (well, their dads probably had So on vinyl), and Queen (maybe circa The Works). However Royworld lack even the basic skill to incorporate these influences within a sound that’s indisputably their own. Indisputably Buggles, perhaps. However, these radio stars don’t need video to slay them; a similarly mundane follow-up should suffice (the downslide of Keane suggests even Radio 1 listeners have limited tolerance).

One band that doesn’t seem to crop up when making comparisons is Doves. Hard to believe, as Royworld sound a lot like them. A hell of a lot. If Doves reverted back to their Sub Sub days and re-recorded the Some Cities album, it’d be… well, it’d be this. But much, much better.

With Andy Green producing, there’s no surprise in there being a little bit of Keane about them, particularly on slower tunes like album closer Tinman. Indeed, if Keane busted some XTC-type moves, they might do an album like this, but no one in their right mind would want that to happen. Thus, short-term success at least is depressingly inevitable.