This Is What A Perfect Album Sounds Like!
Posted December 30, 2013
By KevinMcNeese_NRT, Staff Reviewer
I never caught the vision for Royal Tailor’s debut, Black & White, when it released a few years back. For whatever reason, I wrote them off as part of “Boy Band Wave: Round 28” and was initially indifferent to their debut. But I keep hearing about them working hard, putting on an impressive live show and making plenty of noise and I finally came around to appreciate their efforts. But I was still on the fence on if this was a band that could actually break through and really impress me.
After the first listen to their sophomore, self-titled album, my doubts were instantly crumped up and dropkicked over the fence, never to be revisited again.
This is one of the best examples I can think of, in recent memory, of a band truly realizing their full potential so quickly and releasing an album that I’ll be enjoying, start to finish, for many years to come. It’s one of the most original pop albums I’ve heard, full of heart, energy, truth and flat out fun. In fact, I found myself grinning in a few spots, so proud that our industry could actually push the bar to this level.
I remember listening to “Gravity (Pulling Heaven Down)” from their debut for the first time and checking iTunes to see if, in fact, I was still listening to their album. I swear it had leaped to an unknown Michael Jackson track, but sure enough, it was still Royal Tailor. That comparison is certainly not shied away from on the new album as there are plenty of MJ moments throughout, both vocally as well as musically as most notable through the bass lines on “Original,” one of the strongest tracks on the album.
Royal Tailor is a pop album with plenty of surprises once you get past the polished production. “Got That Fire,” “Jesus Love (f/ TobyMac)” and “Ready Set Go (f/ Capital Kings)” are the album's strongest beats that would fit in any club. “You Are My Rescue,” “Love Song,” “Give Me Faith” and “Remain” provide much of the album’s depth and even in these heavy ballads, the music is driving, pulsing and alive with lyrics that make clear the Christian values these men hold close to their hearts. The closing track, “Fight for Freedom (Let the Walls Fall)” is a “going to war” anthem that builds and releases and builds again in multiple parts, ending in a beautiful two-minute reprise that puts the band’s creative talents on full display as they explore sonically while we sit back and enjoy the end result.
Closing Thoughts:
There have been few albums that have captured my attention as strongly as Royal Tailor and I wouldn’t be surprised if I’m referencing this album as one of my all-time favorites a decade from now. Well done, gentlemen!
Songs to Download:
"Original" and "Remain"
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