Album review: Royal Republic – LoveCop

Royal Republic can always be relied upon to bring the good times. The Swedish four-piece, now on their fifth album, have never taken themselves too seriously, instead devoting all their efforts to producing upbeat, in-your-face rock’n’roll. Recently, they’ve pivoted more towards a disco and funk-infused sound, and none more so has the band’s love of a good floor-filler been on display than on LoveCop.

From the moment opener My House kicks in with its synth and sax-filled intro, it’s evident Royal Republic are determined to go camper and cheesier than ever before. Jumping between hair metal guitars, synth-pop beats and the occasional rapped vocal, it’s ludicrous but undeniably fun. The title-track and recent single Wow! Wow! Wow! are similarly OTT, particularly the latter, whose horns and vocal crooning are the kind of thing that sound perfect for an increasingly rock-friendly Eurovision.

LoveCop possesses plenty of bells and whistles, but there’s still enough bite here to satisfy those who prefer Royal Republic in their purest rock’n’roll form. The riffy Freakshow – complete with its ‘Let’s put on a freakshow!’ vocal hook – looks destined to become a fan-favourite, while there’s some epic soloing on the fast-paced Love Somebody and plenty of chunky guitars on Ain’t Got Time.

It's all rather silly, and while a couple of the 10 tracks here do get lost amidst the chaos surrounding them, the band mostly do a good job of ensuring the cheesiness never strays into irksome territory. If you fancy some big riffs and big beats delivered with heaps of fun, you could do worse than surrender to the LoveCop.

Verdict: 3/5

For fans of: The Hives, KISS, Electric Callboy

LoveCop is released on June 7 via Odyssey.