Royal Bangs: Flux Outside

Royal Bangs
Flux Outside
Glassnote Entertainment Group [2011]









Fire Note Says: Royal Bangs third record Flux Outside is another bullet of a ride!

Album Review:
Put your seat belt on for the third long player from Knoxville's Royal Bangs because Flux Outside is a non-stop angular 50 minute music ride. Flux Outside is just as spunky as its predecessors but has a much bigger and vibrant vibe to it. Some of this increased sound can be accounted for because Royal Bangs outsourced the production duties for the first time to Scott Minor (Sparklehorse) and Dave Fridmann (Flaming Lips, Mercury Rev). This allowed the band to focus on their solid batch of tracks and it finds Royal Bangs really pushing themselves, as there is just so much "stuff" going on in each and every track. This busyness can also hold the Royal Bangs back a bit at times because some of their brighter hooks get lost in translation. This flaw is not consistent though and when the Royal Bangs hit their stride they really hit it. The changes in music and direction on "Bad News, Strange Luck" is not only insane but crazy catchy. Royal Bangs have the ability and talent to keep you off balance and within a 5 minute track they can embed what sounds like three different tunes. This ever moving technique gives the Royal Bangs a niche that is hard to replicate and Flux Outside wins because of it!

Key Tracks: "Fireball", "Silver Steps", "Bad News, Strange Luck"

Bands With Similar Fire:
Hot Hot Heat
MGMT
Passion Pit

Royal Bangs: Let It Beep [Fire Note Review 9/14/09]

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Glassnote Entertainment Group

-Reviewed by Christopher Anthony