Live Review: Royal Blood, Born Lions

Born Lion are at their peak fan-gathering stage, having already demonstrated their ability to write a single and nailed their live shows to run the line between raucous and rabble. That's not to say they are a mess; their back line is locked down and the staccato riff change-ups seamless. Born Lion are top of your lungs, flail your arms, goose neck rawk. Singer Nathan Mulholland's voice won't ever rival Axl for range, but it has a tone all of its own and has a fragility that leaves you in no doubt that he is singing every show like it's his first and last.
Royal Blood have something unusual that is warranting the buzz that precedes them. A duo, nothing new there. An exceptionally quick and crashtastic drummer, Ben Thatcher, nice but not new. A lead bass player, Mike Kerr, oh that's a bit odd. Melodies beyond straight four blues, hello, getting a bit tricky. Then wait, what is going on with that stage rig? Two amps facing the back wall and presumably an octave pedal or ring modulator running through separate amps. It's The White Stripes in complete reverse. And it works a treat. The bass filled both rhythm and lead to the brim. Those two tracks you've been hearing all over radio, they're just the beginning. The high-speed, high-intensity set was karma sutra for your rock holes: relentless pleasure. Like watching Homme and Grohl jam, running through every sound they had from Motörhead-style thrash to '90s New Order to create something completely unique. Oh, and the dude can sing, too! The only not so original or mind-blowing song was the intro track of 99 Problems – so Haim 2013.