Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
Heroes are not just born, they are forged in fire, they are gauged and shaped from the strongest oak and imprinted with humility throughout; these are the finest heroes, those who have greatness thrust upon them and as Swedish band Royal Republic show with determined fascination, the Weekend Man, the one who gives it their all it all week and then slams the weekend into the back row, that is the hero to be.
Weekend Man pumps the muscles that have been neglected, that have been allowed to sag and while away the hours watching endless re-runs of indigestible television, it is an antidote to slumber in the driftwood and the poison that threatens to overwhelm the listener should they fall into the trap of allowing music to become a passive occupation. Weekend Man gives the listener no choice but to fully engage with the music, it offers no escape route, no hiding hole and in the end the listener would surely understand that music is not meant to be a set of nice tunes in which to hum indescribably too, it is to be belted out of the lungs as if they were in possession of a truth worth spreading.
Weekend Man is the cause for a celebration in the high density fog and in tracks such as When I See You Dance With Another, People Say That I’m Over The Top, Any Given Sunday and the door battering American Dream, that celebration, that party atmosphere high on life, Rock and Roll and whatever else wants to find its way into the heady and electric pounding mix, is deeply engrossing and seemingly infinite.
Adam Grahn, Hannes Irengard, Per Andreasson and Jonas Almen, four men who take the words seriously, born in a land which embraces stories of legends and as the Weekend Man progresses, the songs typify the exuberance and musical punishment that Rock was built for; the Weekend Man is a modern hero to adore.
Royal Republic’s Weekend Man is released on February 26th.
Ian D. Hall