Album Review: Grande Royale – Take It Easy (The Sign Records)

Take It Easy is the new album from Grande Royale.  A band from Jönköping, Sweden who find their roots in the early 70s rock scene of Detroit and the 90s rock scene in Scandinavia, mixed up with some vintage pop

The album holds eleven tracks of Scandinavian rock with a strong southern influences: music that speaks the universal language of rock.  The album mixes things up by adding brass, soul choirs to the guitar-filled music.  Take It Easy is the fourth studio album by Grande Royale, succeeding the live album Captured Live from 2018 and the studio album Breaking News from 2017, all released by The Sign Records. Grande Royale is releasing Take It Easy on the 13th of September 2019.

An apt album title, Take it Easy is exactly what this album suggests you do. Pull up a chair at your local bar, grab a pint and take a load off. No worries, no deep thoughts…Grand Royale are on the jukebox so drink deep and relax.

Chances are your fingers and feet will be tapping along to the beat of the band’s feel good rock and roll inventiveness.

Inventive because of what they infuse their music with. Opener Bring it Up is catchy good-time light rock but the jazzy segment just lifts it to an even higher level. Out of Gas is just as hot but more standard rock and roll before the female vocals lead the repetitive but catchy Hands Up. It’s nice enough but one of the weaker tracks on the album.

Especially when it’s followed by Sweet Livin’ which has such a great riff, you can taste the dust coming off it and the continuing album bounciness with Cogitator. Both tracks so pleasing and fun to hear.

That being said, Take it Easy doesn’t exactly have variety which does mean the odd track falls a bit flat purely by comparison to everything else. Decelerate really pushes the poppier side of the band’s music with a choir softly singing ‘take it easy’ over and over again. Ms. Sunshine is standard soft rock fare that would work well on a sunny day at a festival with a beer.

It’s catchy. They’re all catchy. If it’s not the overlying rhythm, it’s the chorus and the likes of Baby You’re A Fool, Going Strong and Standing in My Way don’t change that. Leading to one final hurrah for Take it Easy with On and On.

Grand Royale – Take it Easy Full Track Listing:

1. Bring it Up
2. Out of Gas
3. Hands Up
4. Sweet Livin’
5. Cogitator
6. Decelerate
7. Ms. Sunshine
8. Baby You’re A Fool
9. Going Strong
10. Standing In My Way
11. On and On

Links

Pre-order | Website | Facebook