'London' - Britroyal album review

photo credit: Min Reid-Richards

This week the lovely Kais and Mazin, aka Britroyal finally released their debut album London! Having worked with Pledge Music to deliver the album, it is currently available exclusively to pledgers.  This means that if you missed out on pledging, you will have to wait until the iTunes release I'm afraid!!

I thought I would review the album in order to hopefully entice anyone to support the guys and their album once it is widely available.  London is a brilliant album, instantly memorable with catchy choruses and plenty of strings and guitar riffs.  If you are familiar with Kais and Mazin's music then you will recognise the trademark Britroyal sound throughout the album. However, on the whole it is a far more positive and upbeat record, full of inspirational messages delivered through anthemic tracks.

The track listing is as follows:

1. Stronger - what an epic beginning to the album! The opening chants are anthemic and there is a good, positive message to the song.  The song tells you that any pain you go through makes you stronger in the end.  You can imagine this song being played at a gig with everyone swaying their phone lights in the air!

2. Defiant - this song is more upbeat and carries another strong message, that you should never let anyone get you down - be defiant and fight for your dreams in life.

3. Change - I found this song to be almost countryesque!  The chorus is the winner here, simply telling you that 'it's never too late to change your life'. Whilst I love the message in the song, at the moment it is my least favourite track from the album.

4. Count on Me - there are woah oh's in abundance at the beginning of this song and it is extremely anthemic.  There is a good use of strings in the song too which adds to the great sound created by the guys.  Once again the lyrics are very positive, one of my favourites being 'I'll be the light in the dark when you can't see".  This song is a great way of telling someone that they can depend on you.

5. What Matters Most - this is one of my favourite tracks from the album. It is a beautiful and poignant ballad which, as with many of the album tracks, appears to have been influenced by personal experiences. Experiencing dark times can make you realise what's important in life.

6. Compromise - this is a more up-tempo ballad about keeping a relationship alive by compromising.  There is positivity within this song and it's most definitely a grower.

7. Head v Heart- cue one of the most trademark Britroyal songs on the album! As the title suggests, the song highlights the head and heart battle between staying and walking away. This will definitely be a good song to hear live. It is instantly catchy and the chorus is very easy to sing along to.

8. Tears - this is the surprise track on the album for me as it is the most far removed from the trademark Britroyal sound.  Nonetheless, between great guitar riffs and the fantastic vibe the song gives, it is one of my favourites by far.  The best line in the song for me is a lyric which almost sounds like a rap, which I find amusing considering how posh Kais and Mazin are haha, but the tongue-twisting lyric is 'and it's too heavy to hold under the weight of it all'. (It will make more sense to anyone when listening to it!).  

9. Love's Burning Out - this takes us back to the Britroyal style that we're used to. The song is definitely a grower and builds from the beginning into a strong chorus.

10. London Streets - the main album ends with another strong ballad.  Filled with woahs, drum beats and great lyrics, this is a great song to end a brilliant album with.

11/12/13. (Deluxe tracks) Wasted I Love You/Unfinished/Ordinary - Britroyal have added three of their previous EP tracks as bonus songs on the deluxe version of the album.  In my opinion these are the three best songs from their EP which you can download here. They are sing-a-long tracks, with Ordinary being the stand out track for me.

When I first heard their EP, it took me quite a while to get used to it however I was instantly hooked on this album within the first time of listening to it. I love how every song has a meaning behind it and how they've taken personal experiences and turned them into positive songs.  They have truly excelled themselves with this album and I'm so pleased that I pledged and got to own this superb album before a lot of other people! 

Hwyl am y tro ✌️

A Day Out WIth Britroyal - Take 2!

On Saturday we had our second pledge with the Britroyal twins. The first day out we had with them back in July was so hilarious that I was super excited to see what this day would entail!

Kais and Mazin picked us up from our hotel, and following a change of plan due to crazy traffic and getting lost, they opted to take us to Windsor for the afternoon. The most I remember about Windsor previously was going to Legoland when I was much younger, so I was looking forward to sightseeing the quaint little area.

Windsor Castle

After parking up and grabbing a drink, we decided to go on one of the sightseeing buses around the town. We caught a bus just as it was about to depart and sat in the only four seats left on the top deck as it was such a beautiful day. This was our first mistake as the seats had black crosses on them, meaning the headphone jacks weren't working so we wouldn't be able to hear the running commentary.

selfie with the beefeater!

However, we decided to just wing it and enjoy the beautiful sights as we went along, knowing that we could come aboard the bus again later in the day. The tour took an hour and we passed through sights such as Eton College, though we were lucky to make it out alive to tell the tale!!!  Unbeknown to us, had our headphone sockets been working, we would have known that all passengers had been given a warning about low trees. Yet here we were, sat on the left side of the top deck, travelling quite fast down country roads and being scared half to death by branches! We were travelling at what felt like Grand Prix speed, so much so that mum actually took out half a tree on the way around! (I did carry the branch around with me for a while as a funny memento but then mum left it on a café table :( I wasn't impressed!!!).

Whilst we had to make up the commentary as we went along, we decided to put my selfie stick to good use to get some pictures along the way. An hour of laughter later, we arrived back at the area where we boarded and stepped off in search for a café.

On our way we came across a museum - after our last escapade in London with the music museum, the whole thing has become a running joke so we most definitely had to wander in. We were limited to the bottom floor as there was a wedding upstairs but the curator was very friendly and amongst other facts, informed us that Prince Charles and Camilla got married here. Mum was the butt of all jokes all day long (I won't go into detail to embarrass her further lol) but it involved a man, which led to Kais and Mazin asking if they did weddings for anybody in the museum, even discussing costs with the curator and making her fetch a brochure for us. I'd like to think that I matched the twins on their banter all day, but they were too funny to keep up with at times!

excited faces all round!

We then found a café and had a sit down as the jokes continued. Kais and Mazin are always so friendly, it didn't feel like a pledge at all as the conversation and laughter wasn't forced.

We spotted another bus that appeared to be empty so decided to go round again on the tour. This time we sat on the right hand side where the headphones worked (first announcement: be aware of low branches....). We took more selfies to pass the time before the bus set off, as well as waving at all the other tourists that were taking pictures of the bus.  I felt as if I was on a school trip haha! We went a slightly different route this time, and actually heard what was being said as we went around. I found it quite interesting and it made a change for me to be having a bit of culture injected into my life - despite the numerous towns we've visited over the past few years, we never have time to do anything touristy.

After the bus tour came to an end. we hopped back into the car and headed to Bracknell for supper. Frankie and Benny's was the dining destination of choice and we continued our jokes over food.  We had a Portuguese waiter called Ricardo who was quite hysterical, I can just picture him now recommending puddings and acquainting himself as our friend. Four food comas later, we were ready to leave and sadly end the day.  Kais and Mazin drove us back to our hotel, and we parted ways after another hilarious day.  

how we felt when the day came to an end :(

They are such lovely people, spending the day with them is always so pleasant as they are so nice. The laughter never stops and I always appreciate the memories we make.  Unfortunately we don't have any more personal pledges left with them so until they start gigging, I don't know when we'll get to see them again.  Hopefully it won't be too long, I need more of their posh banter in my life!!!

Hwyl am y tro ✌️