To make something great, you hafta be willing to try something different. Why record a song in a studio when you can do it up in the air in a tiny plane or in the bowels of a submarine? Local Austin quartet Royal Forest seem to know that because they’ve done both of those, and more.
You may recognize three of the four Royal Foresters from their time in local act Loxly. Leader Cody Ground dissolved the group, but guitarist Justin Douglas and bassist Erik Lugo came along on a new group Ground had cookin’. Drummer Blake Lange came on board, and now they’re Royal Forest. Like I mentioned up top, they band has a penchant for outta-tha-way field recordings, but they’re also dedicated to dedicated to all things analog. They’ll manipulate magnetic tape loops onstage where most bands would use a laptop or other bits and bytes of digital flotsam. They recently gave us here at KUTX a taste when they stopped by for a Studio 1A session with our own Laurie Gallardo.
In case you missed their session, you can catch them at Holy Mountain July 12 where they’ll be celebrating the release of their first full-length Spillway. They’ve released some excellent videos for singles from the new record. But one of the tracks that really struck me was one of the non-singles. It’s a tune called “Goldwallpaper,” and it really showcases how a bit of analog gear can make even the most psychedelic sounds feel warm and natural. The song also puts the band’s pop chops on full display. They have a knack for song composition that’s just plain good no matter where it was recorded, in the air, on the ground or in the water.