Royal Republic
LoveCop – Odyssey Music
After beginning life as a garage rock band, Swedish genre-benders Royal Republic took a
stylistic shift in 2019 and morphed into a rather tasty hard rock/new wave/dance punk hybrid.
Latest album LoveCop continues on a similar trajectory, only now the band are incorporating
elements of disco and funk, and the result is a collection of songs that sparkle and shine like a
rotating mirror ball. Throughout this album Royal Republic are pushing at the boundaries of
camp and their genius is knowing just how far to take things; any more and they’d sound a
parody, less and it’d be unconvincing, but by perfectly holding the middle ground they come
across as totally convincing (and by extension, quite frightening). Think Kiss during their disco
phase jamming with the Village People and fronted by Barry White, and you’ll have something
approaching the sound on LoveCop. The effeminate nature of disco collides with the macho
world of hard rock and the result is surprisingly spry. Whether played in a nightclub, or a festival
field, the ten cuts comprising this album are certified floor fillers and have a crossover appeal
that will unite different factions like music has rarely done before. Hands up…it’s the LoveCop!
Review by Peter Dennis