The Royal Concept - Gimme Twice
The Royal Concept, who used to be known as the Concept, sound like Phoenix. That's been remarked upon, pretty much everywhere. The first time I heard this song though, on the radio, I definitely thought it was a Phoenix b-side, or one-off, or demo, and after I figured out that it wasn't Thomas Mars et al., I started thinking again about the role of substitute bands. For me, a long time ago, there was Muse's first album in place of Radiohead (between OK Computer and Kid A), and Starlet (Swedish band) in place of Belle & Sebastian (between Fold Your Hands Child...and Dear Catastrophe Waitress. I'm not counting Storytelling)--soundalike bands that could hold me over while I waited for new records from the 'real' bands. But that's sort of unfair to both Muse and Starlet, who went on to differentiate themselves (in Muse's case, wildly so) from the artists with whom they shared a sound, or a vibe, or a love of falsetto, etc. So the Royal Concept sounds like Phoenix now, in a case of musical Batesian mimicry (maybe), but in a couple years they probably won't. When you think about it, it's not a bad way to start. (Even Radiohead, I think, were called something like 'The British Nirvana' around the time of Pablo Honey, which seems laughable now, for many reasons.)[BUY The Royal Concept]