Royal Palace Motel - Royal Palace Motel

Royal Palace Motel

Royal Palace Motel
​self-released; 2021

4.0 out of 5

By Matt Jensen

Royal Palace Motel is located in Denver, CO. The band has only been formed for about a year but I’m sure the members have been playing much longer than that. On their self-titled EP Royal Palace Motel the band mixes prog rock tendencies with some funk, jazz and experimental elements.

The band starts with “Moonshot” and man does this song groove and deviates from 4/4 time. They sound super tight here and as much as I loved the instrumental aspects the vocals were really catchy. It’s a near perfect balance between technical prowess and accessible melodies.

“All I Wanted” is next and is definitely a little more subdued at first. There’s some very melodic guitar picking. The band however changes things up quite fast. There’s almost a pop punk quality to the song when it speeds up. It was a little unpredictable which I always enjoy. The vocals are again really well done and catchy on this song.

There are Latin rhythms on “Fugue State” and I was loving the bongos and what could be cow bell. The groove is smooth but drives so. I loved it. The vocalist crushes it once again here, and there seemed to be some effects (sounded like autotune) at some point that were used tastefully. As the song progresses it goes on a rollercoaster ride. They rock out hard.

They close with “Runaway” and the band just kills it here. The guitars, drum work and bass all were top notch. This is another song where they experiment with unique time signatures. The chorus is memorable as well.

​This is a great EP from a top notch band. They go four for four here and I hope to hear a full length soon. Recommended.

official website

---

Apple Music

Tweet