On The Verge

Royal Bangs

Knoxville, Tenn.
Lightning Strikes Twice
www.royalbangs.com

In their short career, Royal Bangs —singer and multi-instrumentalist Ryan Schaefer, drummer Chris Rusk and guitarist Sam Stratton —have already been on two buzzed-about labels. The group released their first two albums on Audio Eagle Records, a now-defunct label run by Black Keys drummer Patrick Carney, before signing with Glassnote Records in 2010. The band’s third album, Flux Outside, came out this past March—a collection of glittery garage rock numbers produced by ex-Sparklehorse member Scott Minor. “It felt like we had a really clear intention when making it, which turned into making whatever we wanted,” Stratton says. “It was an anything-goes attitude.” This, of course, meant that there was a lot of material to go through, which is evident when you hear the jangling layers and bluesy, complex melodies on the finished album. While their live show wasn’t as much of a factor in working through material, it has now become central to the band’s writing process as they begin working on their fourth album. “We like the idea of using the studio as an instrument and making something totally different than our live show,” Stratton says. “We wanted the live show and the record to be distinct.”