Love Toxic (Royal Pirates) | 2.5/5

SINGAPORE - Formed in California, Royal Pirates consists of three members, Moon (vocal and guitar), James (bass guitar) and Soo-yoon (drums), and with their distorted power chords, tightly-wound rhythms and punchy vocals, they sound like an uncanny mashup of One Direction and CNBLUE. Following the release of their first EP, Drawing The Line, in January, this Korean-American rock band’ second mini-album, Love Toxic, sees the band trying to capitalise on their newfound popularity. The album includes new songs Love Toxic and Haru (both of which are upbeat and uplifting), as well as the singles Seoul Hillbilly and Betting Everything. But what stood out most was the English rendition of You (from their previous EP). It’s a buoyant and catchy potential radio hit that sounds heavily-influenced by modern “bubblegum” pop. On the bright side, at least they do not look identical at all.