Release Date: 29th May 2020
Record Label: Sumerian
Recommended Tracks: Nightmares / Redeemer
Play it loud and play it now! The Bastards will leave you with no choice in the matter, you will absorb every bit of the vivacity and passion these young brothers possess. Art-rock trio Palaye Royale touch on more somber topics for their latest album; gun violence, mental health & loss; they turn it all into one big roaring siren for the youth generation to relate and react to. Yet it’s not an album you put on to dwell in misery, more stand up and say No! Fuck this shit. Catchy lyrics swung at you from every direction with the mood turned way down to dark, for the most part at least. This album is by far Palaye Royale’s finest work to date.
Fans, collectively known as ‘The Royale Council’ recently created an online poll based on 5 of the pre-released singles to determine which record they predict to like the most, those results indicate that this album is set to be the favourite of all three studio releases. The Bastards, sees things get less poppy and heaps heavier, with the likes of ‘Nightmares’, a Black Sabbath appreciation track with its crunchy guitars and guttural war cry’s from Remington Leith’s heavier punk fashioned vocals. To the other side of the scale, the instrumental dramatics of ‘Redeemer’ will pull your guts down to the depths of despair, lyrics written in memoriam of the late Lil Peep but also allude to Leith’s own struggles with depression.
Growing up with an abusive father who hated the idea of his sons being musicians rather than doctors or lawyers, the brothers soon found their father abandoning the family home. Even though some songs yearn for his presence as a figure in their lives again, the title for the album is somewhat of a figurative emancipation from him, six middle fingers to man who is stripped of his paternal rights. Wearing their title, The Bastards, as a badge of honour, literally lit up in lights, as the backdrop of their recent tour!
In many ways Palaye Royale are the My Chemical Romance offspring for today’s emo kids – the stage makeup, costumes, youth driven aggression, heartache & aestheticising woe. This magical formula is one hell of a way to build a dedicated following of teens who need something to belong to. Being known MCR fans the band even managed to incorporate a lyrical nod to the emo senpais Danger Days track ‘The Only Hope For Me Is You’, with their slow burning ‘Stay’.
It’s one thing writing a catchy song with no obvious meaning, there’s no real vulnerability or need to open up about the story behind it but with The Bastards, it’s apparent throughout this album that the brothers are feeling a lot more comfortable peeling back a new layer unveiling more of an insight to their troubled history through their lyrics to the whole world. This album is an act of pure cathartic inspiration with lashings of infectious excitability.
Rating: 10/10
For Fans Of: Badflower / YUNGBLUD / Arrested Youth / My Chemical Romance
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