ALBUM REVIEW: Royal Swan – Phoxjaw

It’s been just over two years since the release of their first EP but here we are, already, at the deliverance of PHOXJAW‘s debut full-length album. Was it worth the wait? Yes. Is that surprising? No. Across their ephemeral path to the limelight of recognition, PHOXJAW has had eyes burning holes through the backs of their heads after the underground music media drummed up a stir in wait of their first LP; and justifiably so.

The band – much like CONJURER or PIJN who emerged at a similar time – ride their own waves and refuse to sit content with mounting the currents that larger names have left in their wake. This isn’t to say PHOXJAW, and by extension Royal Swan, refuse to show their roots but there is something here that makes this rollercoaster of alt-rock, stoner rock, classic rock with a pinch of hardcore just so individual. 

Upon completion of the first cycle of Royal Swan’s 11 tracks, the most glaring takeaway is PHOXJAW‘s aural diversity – the very thing that, to their benefit, makes trying to slap genre boundaries on the band a pointless exercise. This stems from both an inspired approach to songwriting and a wealth of exciting sounds to channel their vision through. Our first taste, Charging Pale Horses, is a glamorous morsel of an intro with bright, blown-out synth notes before a blaring bass pattern arrives alongside a haunting choir chorus; it instils a feeling of unease that would define Royal Swan’s overbearing tone. 

Hot on the intro’s heels, Trophies In The Attic is the antithesis of PHOXJAW‘s appeal with its concoction of moody alt-rock and deafening metal passages. With a restrained start, led by Alexander Share’s grunge-coated delivery and languid guitar plucking, the initial soundscape has a general laxness that is underlined by harsh, swelling guitar notes that retains that aforementioned sense of uncertainty. PHOXJAW then moves into the second phase of their act which involves blowing out your eardrums. The chorus turns to a grunge-ridden jam atop Share’s emotive harmonics and from here on in the rulebook has swiftly exited the window. Share lets out harrowing cries atop the second verse as the once euphonic guitar passage becomes crooked and then, if things weren’t duplicitous enough, PHOXJAW launches into a riff that wouldn’t sound out of place on GOJIRA’s The Way Of All The Flesh. 

Trophies In The Attic marks the beginning in a long streak through Royal Swan that traces banger after banger. Through the punk and hardcore melds of Triple AAA, the undeniably catchy hook that brings Half House to attention, to the morose anthem that is Infinite Badness that forgoes its clumsy title with Share’s intense vocal delivery. PHOXJAW‘s strong creative muscles aren’t flexed throughout Royal Swan’s runtime, however. Even after multiple playthroughs, the track, Teething, struggles (rather aptly) to make a striking first impression. It emanates the same structural ingenuity of Royal Swan‘s stronger half (and comes off as a cut from THE STROKES‘ The New Abnormal after being dipped in sludge) but is lacking an engaging hook to hold things together. 

Fortunately for PHOXJAW, the weaker cuts that impede Royal Swan’s final sprint to the finish – with An Owl Is A Cat With Wings and The Monk suffering similar rudimentary issues to Teething – are reduced to minor blows thanks to the band’s creative resurgence in Bats For Bleeding and the title-track finale. Hearing anything ‘Bowie-Esque’ was not within expectation but here we are at Bats for Bleeding. It’s a big, swaggering, flirtatious romper where Share can really show off some ‘Berlin-era Bowie’ attitude and Josh Gallop can extend the album’s chilling atmosphere brought through the song’s key passages. The track acts as a fervent reminder that these lads can and will do pretty much anything. Arriving at the album’s closing moments, PHOXJAW‘s final push is immense. At seven-minutes the title-track is the record’s longest track and, with a multitude of different shifts to the song’s rhythm and overall mood, it’s also its most elaborate. The rambunctious mainstays of the album’s DNA are brought to a simmer without sacrificing the band’s passion nor their mature attitude to song structure; it stands as a satisfying closer that leaves no ends untied.

The verdict? PHOXJAW have wasted no time in fulfilling everyone’s lofty expectations by resolving a two-year-long question mark to see how these lads would translate onto a full-length release. Royal Swan is the answer we were hoping for, a debut that exudes both the energy and novelty of fresh blood with the maturity that can tie the ideas into a manner of coherence. The odd nit-pick can indeed be made but these are kinks destined to be stamped out given the time. Exciting, bold, and most importantly, different, PHOXJAW is simply what we need right now. 

Rating: 8/10

Royal Swan is set for release on July 3rd via Hassle Records.

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