American band Broke Royals got their dreams to come true with Big Dream, an EP that takes some risks. Review.
BIG DREAM – BROKE ROYALS
To realize your dreams, you sometimes have to get straight to the point. Broke Royals got that right as they’re debuting this new EP by the track that gave it its name: Big Dream. A whispered invitation, like a secret, to dream as large as possible, and make that first scary step, Big Dream carries catchy and clear chords. They are making the track an unmissable one from the get-go, especially when Philip Basnight’s textured voice comes in. But my favourite here, is actually One Look, coming next. There, it’s Rebecca Basnight’s vocals that are revealed – and they are an ace the band can count on. Hypnotic bass line and a hook, great self-confidence emanates from the sensual atmosphere of the melody. No notes to give here.
It isn’t the only instance where Philip Basnight lets another take the lead. Taimir Gore captures the contemplative Toasted Almond. There, it’s a road trip around welcoming valleys, toasted-almond-coloured. Warm, it’s a track that pokes folk and Americana that contrasts a lot with the rest of the EP without creating an unbalance. Between One Look and Toasted Almond, No Time For Love is an ode to nostalgic love, gentle, yet pricked by summery anxiety. If there is no time for love, the song still invites us to fall in love again in the blink of an eye.
The biggest risk comes at the end of the EP. A lo-fi version, where vocal effects dominate, of Is This It, by The Strokes. The result is spatial, and the painting looks like a pointillistic night made of fluctuating city lights. The cover is risky to me, but it still works. Frankly, risks and beautiful safer chords, I hope to hear more from there here. By joining vocals and atmosphere cleverly, Broke Royals leaps towards their objectives with Big Dream.
