11 years. 7 albums. Royal Chant get around.

Play it loud. Tell a friend. Rinse. Repeat.

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Influences: Guided By Voices, Bob Dylan, The Velvet Underground, old R.E.M., older R.E.M., Sonic Youth, Boston Spaceships, The Pogues, , Idlewild, Nirvana, Elliot Smith, David Bowie, The Jam, The La's, Dramarama, The Pixies, The Drones, Radiohead (back in the day), Iggy Pop (any day), Beck (on a good day), Folk Implosion, The Shins, Elvin Jones, John Coltrane, Monk, Ronnie Dobbs, Falstaff, Philip Larkin, Stevie Smith, Andy Kaufman, Oscar Wilde, Jack Fairy, Opinions, Fists, Bedwetting Music, Bad Poetry, Bad Dancing, People Who Talk Too Much, Being Someone's Second Best Friend, A Broken Harmonica You Found In A Public Toilet, A Good Beating, Throwing Up, Running Away, Hanging Around, Getting By +++++++++

This review might sum it up best….

"What do you get when you put a band of impassioned Aussies in a van, and send them trekking across the outback and through cities? In the case of Royal Chant, you get something feral and raucous. And, beneath all that, something unexpectedly poetic. Singer Mark Spence is an American expatriate, and his deadpan singing style belies the restlessness just beneath the surface. There’s an edge of discontent that runs through a lot of Royal Chant’s material. The modish “I Remember Crescent City,” with its bopping guitars and thumping rhythm guitars and doodling leads, could be a Strokes song in an instant. On “Shatters Alright,” Spence sings, “It’s not love without the abrasions” while guitars and drums send up torrents of grit. It’s garage rock perfection. Our favorite might have to be “Coughing Fits,” a dark and troubling rocker that unfolds with muffled dread. Sinewy guitars and twinkling keys quicken the pulse, and disturb all the way though the chorus. The abrasions might be psychological here, but either way, it’s love."

-Kate Bredimus editor, Ourstage.com