According to the business website Quartz, the guitar industry is suffering because rock music is falling out of favour, especially in the mainstream. Lucky then for bands like Royal Blood. The Brighton (UK) rock duo’s 2014 self-titled début album was very well received, and with their second effort, How Did We Get So Dark? (both Warner Bros), they’ve crafted another neat piece of simple but effective radio-friendly rock.

The opening title track gives a good indicator of what to expect throughout; a short little stomper with strong hints of Queens of the Stone Age; there’s the same mix of fuzzy, angular guitars, funky grooves and easily hummable choruses. The recipe remains largely similar for the rest of the album; 10 tracks all in or around the 3-minute mark, most are fairly uptempo, upbeat, and catchy as trench foot at a muddy festival.

Lead single ‘Lights Out’ is a more primal, heavier Black Keys with elements of the White Stripes thrown in. ‘I Only Lie When I Love You’ is radio-friendly stomper while the galloping ‘Where Are You Now?’ has and edge of punk about it. There is some variation in the sound, especially towards the end of the record. The slow creep of ‘Don’t Tell’ is the closest we get to a brooding ballad, while ‘Hook, Line and Sinker’ and ‘Hole In Your Heart’ blend that QOTSA-lite approach with some more ambitious song-writing. It’s all well-polished and perfectly produced, but it’s the kind of music the mainstream loves with just enough about it to appeal the die-hard rock crowd.

Royal Blood won’t be every Ghost Cult reader’s cup of tea; they’re unashamedly catchy and radio-friendly, though the suggestion of various publications that How Did We Get So Dark? has the most infectious riffs since Rage Against the Machine is beyond ludicrous. But what they have done is hone their blend of garage-lite rock to near-perfection, and for anyone after some guitar-driven music that won’t scare the neighbours, you could do a lot worse.

7.0/10

DAN SWINHOE