As indie rockers add synthesizers, laptops, and drum machines during the current electro craze, real instruments often become afterthoughts, lost or forgotten in the mix. Not to be left behind, Royal Bangs had the requisite electronics on stage at their recent sold out show at the Middle East downstairs. However, in contrast with many of their peers, rather than basing their sound around transistors and capacitors, Royal Bangs used the synthesizers to add texture and color to the intensity of their two guitar attack, throbbing electric bass, and pounding live drums. They may disguise themselves at times as electro on record, but in their live shows Royal Bangs make for a kick-ass rock band. The bleeps and bloops that lie somewhere between cowbells and Tetris meld seamlessly with the overdriven complementary guitar rifts and keep the songs danceable and rocking all the time.
Performing with insane stage energy, Royal Bangs used all corners of the stage at the Middle East, bouncing around, dodging each other in the process, and sharing keyboards, and drums. Highlights of the show included tracks off their new full-length Let It Bleep like “War Bells” with its slower bass-driven intro, the pulsing “My Car is Haunted” captured on video by our friends at Extraneous Noise, and the older song “Brother” that made for an explosive finish to their set.
Based in Nashville, Royal Bangs arrived at the Middle East as part of a tour with We Were Promised Jetpacks and Bad Veins. No more Northeastern tour dates are listed on their website, so if you live up here and missed the show, catch a plane down to Tennessee and see them in their home state. If you can time it with Elvis Week, you’ll get to experience two of the best things Tennessee has to offer.