Compassion by Royal Coda
Royal Coda is a quintet post-hardcore band from Sacramento, CA. The band is comprised of members of Dance Gavin Dance, A Lot Like Birds, Stolas and Sianvar. The band released their self-titled debut album back in 2018 and have recently just finished a tour supporting Hail The Sun all across the US. With their latest release, an 8-track album that is a nod to Dance Gavin Dance album Happiness, the band continues on a journey of creating multi-textured compositions that transport you to a whole new world.
With songs like Numbing Agent and Don’t Stay Long you can feel the post-hardcore roots of the band shine through while others (Ruby Leaf, All In Question) seem to transport you with the band’s use of new sounds that bring a sense of calm. Of course, then you have the songs (The Innocence Of, Arms Race for God’s Grace) that sit somewhere in between calm and chaos, a combo that when done right can be magical - something I think this band has mastered. A personal favorite was Becoming The Memory that really shows off the band’s diversity and use of instruments and layering. Not to mention that the band shines when it comes to their lyrics. Add in the reprise (The Innocence Of (Reprise)) that just pulls everything together.
Overall, Royal Coda doesn’t disappoint and is onto something magical with this one and I cannot wait for what will come next for this band.
If you want to take a listen to “Compassion” for yourself here are the links:
Bandcamp - https://royalcoda.bandcamp.com
Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/album/066s8LUoLpOTZzdxmSSi04?si=0943p-V_SO-TmQeSi1LU8w
Apple Music - https://music.apple.com/us/album/compassion/1478501701
Their latest video for “Numbing Agent”: