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Typhoons is the third studio album by English rock duo Royal Blood, released through Warner Records on 30 April 2021. A predominately self-produced effort, the band recorded the album throughout 2019 and 2020. The album also marks a notable shift in the band's sound, pairing their usual alternative and hard rock sound with elements of dance rock and disco. Three singles have been released from the album ("Trouble's Coming", "Typhoons", and "Limbo"), in addition to the promotional single "Boilermaker".
Recording
Royal Blood began recording the album in early 2019. Halfway through the year, they embarked on a tour consisting of intimate shows as well as appearances at festivals such as the Reading and Leeds Festivals. During this tour the band debuted the songs "Boilermaker" and "King" live, both of which appeared on the album, though "King" was relegated to just the deluxe versions. They resumed recording later that year. Recording of the album stretched into early 2020, when it was forced to be halted as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic in England. The band wrote additional songs during the pandemic, two of which lead singer Mike Kerr felt were "the two best songs on the record".
Promotion
On 24 September 2020, the band released "Trouble's Coming", the lead single from the album. The video for the single was premiered on 23 October 2020, and in the same month it was included as a part of the soundtracks for the EA Sports video games NHL 21 and FIFA 21. The song went on to be a commercial success, reaching No. 8 in Scotland and No. 46 in the United Kingdom. On 21 January 2021, the band revealed the title of the album as Typhoons, as well as announcing its tracklist and release date of 30 April 2021. Additionally, they released the album's title track as a single on the same day. A music video for the song was released on 28 January. It reached No. 63 in the UK as well as No. 2 in the country's Rock & Metal singles chart. On 25 March, the band released "Limbo" as the third single from Typhoons. On 13 April, "Boilermaker" was released with an accompanying music video directed by and starring Liam Lynch.
In a four star review for NME, Typhoons was praised as Royal Blood's "best work to date" and describes the track 'Boilermaker' as the "album's true centrepiece". Gigwise held the album in similar acclaim, stating that Typhoons forges "the sound of modern masters honing their craft to reinvigorate the genre". The Independent praised the band for reinventing their sound, making comparisons with Daft Punk-esque electronic flairs, and assesses that "the riffs are better, arrangements more textured, harmonies more interesting". In a less positive review, DIY says that the "songs here may be more melodic, more complex even on paper, but in reality there's little there to truly grab hold of".
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