Royal Forest - Waiting Drum (2020)

Royal Forest are perfectionists who love mistakes. Never making the same record twice. They’ve recorded in a single-prop airplane in flight, inside a WWII submarine, and in a lightning storm among the Monahans sand dunes. They designed and built an analog tape loop sampling rig, allowing them to sample and manipulate audio on stage (including the audience) and play it back in real time during a performance, in surround sound. The constant search for new sonic colors, new techniques, new ways of connecting the listener with the lyrics has been the evolutionary engine of this band’s songwriting and production.

All the geeky shit aside, Royal Forest is incredibly listenable. Vocal melodies are memorable, imbued with the infective charm of some serious pop sensibilities. Lyrics are poured over for the sounds of words as much as their meaning, creating little tone poems decorated by meticulously cherry picked performances and happy accidents.

Royal Forest's latest album, Waiting Drum, is a vivid visual and sonic experience. Written and recorded to tape over two days in an 80 year old Arkansas farmhouse, Americana imagery is woven between 808s played by hand and melodic West African and Brazilian inspired bass lines. The stark contrast between crisp, hi-fi digital instruments and warbly vintage tape echoes gives the record a cinematic depth that’s underscored by the minimalist approach of its production.