Her Royal Harness came together as a synth-pop duo in 2012. Norwegian lead singer and songwriter Helene Jaeger joined with London producer Dylan Long to create what they describe as ‘romantic battle hymns and quixotic laptop rock’. In simpler terms, The Hunting Room is an album of dark alternative pop.
The constant push-and-pull between them makes for a diverse and constantly engaging listen. The general idea may be that of a straight-ahead pop record, but their influences are much more varied than that might suggest; the Baroque era of classical music is just as prominent at certain points on the album as, say, 80s indie and post- punk. ‘Unseen’ is like Echo and the Bunnymen gone synth-pop; the thudding percussion and…
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…infectious groove of lead single ‘Blood + Fire’ allows some techno influences to come to the fore.
Having hid themselves away for a year to regroup after deciding to scrap their older songs, they allowed only the sounds that were in their own heads to permeate the album, and while the result may only contain nine songs, and run to just over 35 minutes, the brevity of the record belies the complexity of the material therein. ‘Mercenary Man’ kicks things off with tribal drums. droning strings and an immediate emphasis on Jaeger’s strong vocal presence, while ‘Bear in a Trap’ ups the tempo significantly, quick-fire rhythms combining with potent melody lines and driving home the duo’s desire to make pop music without boundaries.
This is the sort of layered, urgent pop music that has a real commercial future. It may have taken Her Royal Harness coming to an almost complete standstill to truly ignite their creativity, but what has emerged is a record that, whilst sounding effortless at times, is indicative of a band having found what works for them and pushing it further than many could have expected them to do. They’re just doing what comes naturally, when it comes down to it: ‘Colour Me’ and ‘Factories’ are typically expressive tracks in which they prove that they could find themselves among the leading lights of off-kilter pop another few albums down the line.
Most importantly, though, they never sound like they’re on autopilot; never sound like they’re coasting. This is music that they have taken great pains to perfect, and, behind its shimmering sound, is the product of many different (often opposing) impulses and creative forces. It’s a dazzling and confident debut from a band who deserve to do great things. Their name? Whether or not you like it, you would do well to remember it.