Thomas Tantrum - Mad By Moonlight
It's perhaps not surprising that Lily Allen is a big fan of Thomas Tantrum, a band who have an swagger to match their catchy pop tunes.
Mad By Moonlight sees the band take a turn away from their slightly punk-influenced earlier work, with the resulting album looking set to be the soundtrack of the summer.
Carried by the soaring vocals of Megan Thomas, the album is deeper than your tpyical female-fronted band usually is.
It's nice to hear such a band doing something different and this artistic.
It has a subtle folk feel to it, with catchy pop melodies making this an up-beat, deep record.
'We Are The People' is a definite highlight on a surprisingly strong album from the Southampton quartet.
Megan's vocals will draw obvious (fair) comparisons to Kate Nash, but the strength of the band behind her puts her a step above such acts.
Tracks like 'On The Phone' manage to combine indie, electro and pop sensibilities wonderfully, one of Thomas Tantrum's best skills.
The album never feels slow or dragging, and comes to a beautiful end with 'Supermodel', a seemingly innocent track with real sophistication.
Mad By Moonlight could be the album that makes Thomas Tantrum a big name in the UK, and any praise is completely justified.
This is a beautifully crafted album that manages to stick to a genre whilst remaining diverse and exciting.
Female First - Alistair McGeorge