How Did We Get So Dark: The Art Behind A Successful Second Album

Ben Thatcher (left), and Mike Kerr of Royal Blood.

With most musicians who are blown into the fray with a meteoric debut record, it is extremely difficult for them to follow it up with an effort just as contemporary and mind blowing as the first. They have to have a unorthodox ability to not be caught up with all the demands and lavishings of life in the spotlight; to not be carried away with the financial benefit they might've stumbled into as a result of their initial effort. Most sequel albums are simply not as good as their predecessor because the unprecedented quality of it was what made it blow up in the first place: they were in the right place at the right time. With a second album, artists are much more liable to experiment and dabble within genres; with more money at their expense, they get carried away with production, trying out new instrumentation and including it unnecessarily. There is a knack and a God-given talent - and a fair amount of resistance needed as well - to keep it simple - and that is where you find the ability to create a second album that actually matches up to the first attempt.

Royal Blood's 'How Did We Get So Dark' shows that there is a fine art and a delicate craft involved in producing that hit second effort - when the public's expectations are so high, it's always going to have to be something special in order to not disappoint. The ten-track sophomore LP, released on Warner Bros, is almost three years in the making. Their eponymous breakthrough effort was heavily marketed by Apple's iTunes, and the coverage it received sent the album flying to the top of the charts.

Now, older and wiser, the duo have returned with a track listing just a powerful, just as dirty and just as titanic as before.

HOW DID WE GET SO DARK (2017)

Lead singer and bassist Mike Kerr noted in a recent interview with Dutch radio station 3FM that it was in the the moment he heard Queens of the Stone Age's 'No One Knows', that he realised that a musical career was his calling.

'Before that song, I'd only heard music that heavy with someone screaming down the microphone. Then I thought "I could do that"'.

He wasn't lying.

When you look at Thatcher and Kerr, you wouldn't immediately associate them with the gritty, dark-edged music they've established a reputation for over the past few years. But the beauty behind it all is that they've found the gap in the market; they're the diamond in the rough for those who like dirty guitar riffs, but without the ear-drum-bursting screech of a metal singer over the top.

Despite the fact that we already knew of Royal Blood's musical capabilities, it was still questionable whether they would be able to maintain their crunching sound while keeping the vocals mellow, so that concert-goers wouldn't wreck their larynx's every time they sang. But on this album, they've got it spot on once again.

Alright, they've added a few backing vocals and even a tambourine here and there. There are a couple of mildly audacious effects on the guitar - but who can blame them with the instruments at their disposal? The fundamental concept is still there - and somehow, it's still mind-blowing how they manage to achieve such a room-filling sound with just a guitar and a drum kit.

The title track of the album kicks off the show with a tastefully groovy drum beat that leads into a pacy number, setting the standard for the rest of the album at the first touch of the needle. Kerr's falsetto and accented 'o's' are present throughout as he wails about a broken relationship. The end of the song is complemented by a massive build up and mosh-pit-worthy coda to finish alongside the chant of 'How we get so dark?'.

'Lights Out', the album's lead single, encompasses a ridiculously simple riff and a catchy melody. The song is notable for it's notorious 'ba-dum-ba-dum-ba-dum' drum fill slap-bang in the middle of the song, which seems to lasts an age, but is then balanced out by a funkily warped solo-cum-bassline, which sounds like a speeded up version of one of those quirky 'groaning sticks' that you got on holiday when you were about five.

The third track is 'I Only Lie When I Love You', a simple but effective, cowbell infused foot-stomper. The song is characterised by a stormingly overdriven riff and an equally intense drum beat. The minimalism of the song means that it is lacking a killer chorus and sticks to the same structure throughout the song, but another tactically shortened head-thrashing outro leaves you with a taste for more.

'She's Creeping' is a slower number that starts with a groaning riff played in a much higher pitch than Royal Blood's standard bass tone, before collapsing into a Scissor-Sisters-esque chorus with a more pop inspired feel to it. The song sounds distinctly like a homage to a lighter, more Bluesy rock sort of sound like that of the Black Keys, but still embellishes that delicious Royal Blood heaviness at the same time.

Once again showcasing their knack to be fluid between different genres of rock, 'Look Like You Know' sounds similar to some of Arctic Monkey's older stuff, specifically that on their own second record 'Favourite Worst Nightmare'. The falsetto vocals also bare resemblance to Alex Turner's on 'AM'. The song entails the band's first use of a strummed chord, as, well as echoing backing vocals. Don't worry though - the archetypal bass snarl is still a critical feature sprinkled throughout the song.

A single released separately to the album, 'Where Are You Now' was debuted as part of the soundtrack to HBO's drama 'Vinyl' about the music industry, in early 2016. The band's uncanny ability to pluck original riffs out of the air that sound like they should've been used in 1979 is put to use once again, although the song sounds very similar to 'Lights Out' in parts.

'Don't Tell' is the album's seventh track and the slowest. The closest the band has ever got to a ballad, Thatcher and Kerr obviously wanted to try their hand at a more relaxed, euphonious sound. They've even included some 'shhppp' sounds, like those on Oasis' 1994 single 'Shakermaker'. Despite their efforts, the band should probably stick to songs that want to make you cave your window in with a baseball bat than give your loved one a peck on the cheek.

Royal Blood, light and relaxing? Scratch that. 'Hook, Line and Sinker' is another love song with a tempestuous riff that sounds like it could be easily use as a boxer's entrance theme. The song's belting drums at the end are rock and roll at it's best.

The penultimate track, 'Hole in Your Heart', takes you by surprise as soon as you press play. An off-key intro played on what sounds like an electronic keyboard brings the song into focus and wouldn't be out of place in a horror film. The backing vocals are very reminiscent of Matthew Helders' on Monkey's songs like 'I Wanna Be Yours' and 'Do I Wanna Know' during the verses, and the overall feel of the song is quite a melancholy one - but, true to form, the song nosedives into an obligatory chaotic chorus - just like we expected.

To complete the album, 'Sleep' is another one of those songs which hides the fact that it's about a girl well, with a carefully crafted title. It makes good use of a wide range of notes on the fretboard and includes a catchy hook. The haunted cries of 'I don't wanna sleep, cause I've had enough of the same ugly dream...' sign off the album on what seems like a more tender note, but still encompasses that sharp edge that we've come to love.

OVERVIEW
You can view it in many ways, but this what just what we expected from Royal Blood. Lyrically, Kerr still dwells on past conquests and the day to day nuisances of being young and in love, but can you blame him? Over time, we could come to view this as a better record than their first. They may have copied the template of their inaugural effort, but they've become a more polished and less amateur outfit, and the noise will still blow the roof off stadiums. It's the best example of rock and roll we've got at the moment, and if this is it, I'll take it.

No surprises, still loud as f**k
Rating: 8/10