ROYAL BANGS "We Breed Champions" (City Slang) eight / ten

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High-end indie rock albums are ten-a-penny these days, so the question is, does one need another Pitchfork approved quality effort from a bunch of five hipsters from Knoxville, Tennessee? I would say yeah. But I appreciate your dilemma. You still have only given a few listens to the recent Wolf Parade record, We are Scientists is still on repeat, Of Montreal are always good for a spin, Menomema sort out your quirky fix, Tapes N' Tapes second effort was a bit ropey but their solid debut is good to fall back on. And here comes Royal Bangs. Do you have the time to let them worm into your heart?

Make the time. It won't take long. In fact the sun-kissed riff and boy/girl harmonies of opening barnburner 'New Scissors' will have go a long way towards doing the job in double quick time. This is a simple, unpretentious collection of raucous indie tunes adorned with all the au courant bells and whistles that make up the modern sound - electronic flourishes, crunching guitars, studio trickery, perfunctory vocals, woo-hoos, hand-claps, and pell-mell rawk wig-outs. 'Japanese Cars', 'Broke Calculator' and 'Hyundai from Korea' all exude a winning confidence and a sing-along charm - standouts on a record that could easily pass you by, but shouldn't.

Mark Keane
www.myspace.com/royalbangs

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