A punk group with soul is truly a rarity, as is a sincere band that doesn’t wear its heart on its sleeve but in the sweat it leaves on the stage. Royal Headache is both.
After the Gaslight Anthem released The ’59 Sound in 2008, the term “soul punk” first started getting tossed around. However, it never quite fit the band it was always attached to. Sure, Gaslight had soul-like tendencies, but they were always more indebted to the grandiose heartland rock of Bruce Springsteen than anything else. Coincidentally, within the same year, a band formed that more accurately embodies the soul punk tagging.
Australia’s Royal Headache has spent the last seven years mostly flying under the radar, releasing only two full-length records on a tiny independent label. But the quartet is also one of the most unique bands in the increasingly crowded genre of lo-fi punk, instantly recognizable by the strained, soulful vocals of frontman Shogun.
Their most recent release, this year’s High, sees the band hitting their stride musically. The production is much slicker than on their self-titled debut, but it still maintains the group’s ramshackle charm. That doesn’t mean that Royal Headache isn’t growing musically, though: “Carolina,” one of the album’s standouts, is a jangly college rocker unlike anything they’ve put out before, and “Garbage” sees them get downright noodly.
No one in the band seems to be embracing Royal Headache’s growth more than Shogun. He really lets it rip on High vocally, especially on “Need You,” where he channels his inner Otis Redding to the point that you can practically hear him wiping his face with a towel through the stereo. And its not just blue-eyed soul, either, that catchall for white dudes with good voices — Shogun’s got soul for real, and it’s evident in his is raw, often shirtless performances.
If there’s anything to knock the band for, it’s their lyrics, which can be simplistic. But lyrical complexity isn’t the sole contributing factor to being a good band. And what Royal Headache lacks in that department, they make up for tenfold in emotion.