Album: High
Year: 2015
. . .
Things were always tumultuous in the Royal Headache camp. Despite — or perhaps because of — the unexpected success of their eponymous 2011 debut album, they broke up in 2013, with the follow-up partially recorded. After being broken up for a year, they got back together to finish the record.
That record, High, was a quantum leap from Royal Headache. Not only did it sound bigger and fuller, it varied up the songs — there’s a couple of slower ones, and a couple that break the four-minute mark — and augmented the instrumentation with some occasional acoustic guitar and keyboards. Though you really couldn’t hear the keyboards all that much. Or the acoustic guitar, for that matter.
And it’s got the masterful “Love Her If I Tried,” as perfect of a soul-punk-pop song as you’re ever gonna get, where over the reliable din made by guitarist Law, drummer Shortty and bassist Joe, lead singer Shogun pours his heart straight into his ears.
‘Cause I know she don’t need me
And I know ’cause it hurts the way I feel inside
And I know that she don’t believe me
When I say that I could love her if I tried
And with an “alright,” they barrel straight into an absolutely crushing chorus, each line punctuated by big-ass guitar and bigger-ass drum rolls.
Love her if I tried
Love her if I tried, babe
Love her if I tried, love her if I tried
Love her if I tried, now
Love her if I tried
Love her if I tried, love her if I tried
Kids, I’m only human. It’s impossible for me to resist the amount of melody, power, and heart that is the chorus of “Love Her If I Tried.” And the band knows this, too, because after a perfunctory second chorus, it’s all about Shogun repeating “love her if I tried” approximately 4,634 times in the second half of the song, each one more angst-filled than the last. It’s a beautiful thing and you should stop reading this post and just enjoy this song.
And it’s not even their best song. That comes tomorrow.
“Love Her If I Tried”
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