Review GRANDE ROYALE ‘Welcome to Grime Town’

Grande Royale have already released several albums and are one of the established acts in the Swedish retro rock scene. Inspired by the Detroit sound of the 70’s and influenced by the Swedish rock scene of the 90’s, Grande Royale have become quite an impressive band.

‘Cygne Noir’ was the debut album of the guys, released in 2014 and marked the starting point for a euphoria driven journey through the worlds of garage rock and vintage rock.

Grande Royale have now completed their new album ‘Welcome to Grime Town’, a record with a 12 song tracklist. It starts with ‘Tell Me’ and the guys don’t wait long to let it roll. The opener is a dynamic and peppy song that immediately puts you in a good mood which continues with the smashing rocker ‘Status Doom’. The song pops out of the speakers dirty and rough and even if the day is gray and stormy, ‘Status Doom’ raises your mood.

These two songs describe ‘Welcome to Grime Town’ well. Musicians here follow their passion for well made rock’n’roll, away from trends and hypes. Honest music, that’s what you get when you listen to songs like the solid rocking ‘Freak Parade’ and the straight composed ‘Stark Raving Mad’.

The quieter moments don’t come up short either. The acoustic introduction to ‘Utopia’ is one before the song gains power without losing a certain melancholy. And then there is ‘The End’ and it is to be hoped that we are only dealing with the end of the record here.

‘Welcome to Grime Town’ is a record that is a pleasure to listen to again and again. This has mainly to do with the great songs. Here, with passion and commitment, music is made that touches and is approachable; music that comes from the heart and carries you along. Well done Grande Royale.