Royal Blood have released their new single ‘Limbo’, the third instalment from their upcoming album ‘Typhoons’.
The track, which was written a year ago during the first lockdown, was premiered as Annie Mac’s Hottest Record in the World in the week of its release. Speaking about ‘Limbo’, frontman Mike Kerr said: “This is kind of the track where I feel like we let loose the most and went as far as we felt we could with this concept and this sound… a lot of these songs [from the new record] were almost antidotes for what was going on with the rest of the world”.
For an inconspicuous duo, Royal Blood makes a whole lot of noise. Mike Kerr creates a distinctive hybrid of overdriven bass and guitar tones from a singular instrument; Ben Thatcher draws influence from drummers like Dave Grohl and Chad Smith, as well as the hip hop genre, to construct his sound. The drums really stand out in ‘Limbo’, building momentum and driving the intensity of the track throughout its 5-minute duration. While the verses are energetic and exciting, the chorus is slightly repetitive and anticlimactic.
Although it’s a groove-based song that you can dance to, ‘Limbo’ has a dark lyrical theme that contrasts with its upbeat soundscape. Lines like “I’ve become someone I don’t recognise, I despise / Numb and defeated, part paralysed” refer to being stuck in a cycle of damaging behaviour. On Twitter, the band stated “‘Limbo’ is about feeling helpless to the violent storms of self-destruction and addiction”. From a place of uncertainty, Royal Blood have produced a track that many people will be able to relate to.
