ROYAL BLOOD The Metro, July 20 Cocky little beggars now aren’t they? And fair enough too. Mike Kerr and Ben Thatcher always had a sense of rock theatre about them, and not just because even after White Stripes, The Mess Hall and Black Keys, a two-piece rock band still feels like a precarious balancing act and a bit of bravado. Thatcher’s habit of standing on his drum stool mid-show and simply staring out at the audience, as if daring them to come at him, made a showmanship vi

ROYAL BLOOD How Did We Get So Dark? (Warner) Riffs enough for ya? Though technically short a guitarist, with Mike Kerr playing a bass that is uniquely processed/heavily effects-pedal treated, British duo Royal Blood are, to borrow from Meaghan Trainor, all about the riffs, those riffs, on album number two. Kerr spills lines like a relentless production process as he motors and vaults, pokes and prods, razes and razors, lasers and tasers, while channelling ‘70s and ‘90s

Joe Henry – Invisible Hour http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/entertainment/music/joe-henry-finds-the-mystery-in-each-song-20140902-103n5a.html Happy Thom Thom Yorke – Modern Boxes. Which made a neat package with a couple of fellow travellers http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/music/album-reviews-from-thom-yorkes-tomorrows-modern-boxes-to-aphex-twins-syro-20141015-114vpg.html Guerre – Ex Nihilo Jack White – Larazetto Robert Plant – Lullaby and the Ceaseless Roar. More than a le