What We're Listening To - U.S. Royalty's Mirrors

The buzz around DC band U.S. Royalty reached me before I had even heard anything. I think a coworker told me to check them out, or I heard them on a podcast, or possibly saw a poster at a club. Who knows.

Mirrors is an effort that barrels out of the gate and mellows quickly, trying to hold in big guitars and meandering lyrics and vocals. After a short instrumental piece, nothing has as much swagger 60s psych rock as second track Hollywood Hollows. And it's probably just as well, because the band shines better when it's not doing that. Monte Carlo, Vacation Vacation, Old Flames are solid pieces of Americana rock (less southern, more hazy... think Fleet Foxes, Band of Horses, My Morning Jacket). Fool to Love You is a good finger drumming jam, probably even more so live.

But there's Allman Brothers/Lynyrd Skynyrd touches there, like Give Up The Ghost, with its Muscle Shoals stomp in the front and Freebird uptick on the backend. Fun all the way around.

This will no doubt be a big year for US Royalty. Catch them live before they get too big.

Stream for free and Buy US Royalty's Mirrors for $7.99 directly from the band at its website.

Or the other usual suspects have it as well (Amazon, iTunes)