★★★★

Viola Beach consisted of Kris Leonard (guitar and vocals), River Reeves (guitar), Tomas Lowe (bass guitar), and Jack Dakin (drums). the four-piece alongside their manager Craig Tarry tragically passed away in acar accident back in February.

The families of the band decided to release this album of their work saying “This was only the beginning for them and these nine songs were written with every intention to be shared, heard and, most of all, enjoyed. We hope that it brings you as much happiness listening to it as we know it did to them making it.”

After listening to the album, it’s impossible to disagree with them, they’ve left behind material that is most definitely full of happiness, the catchy hooks and tropical sounding guitar melodies will leave you with a grin on your face, this is evident on “Really Wanna Call” and “Go Outside” both infectious and will have you singing along instantly especially the sunny chorus of the latter.

Their music fellow brit indie rockers The Kooks and Peace, it’s a fair comparison to make but for me their tropical sounds are reminiscent of other UK indie band Friendly Fires. another highlight on the album is “Drunk” the song continues to pick up pace throughout before a frantic jam of a finale

A track that stands out amongst the rest is “Call You Up” the ballad is the only song that could be considered downbeat but shows just how much maturity that the bands songwriting possessed despite Kris being only 19.

My favourite track from the album however is “Boys That Sing” a definite Indie tune, it’s joyous, it’s infectious and a blast to listen to. it’s also central to one of music’s most touching moment’s this year when Chris Martin and Coldplay decided to pay tribute to Viola Beach in the most poignant way possible, giving them the chance to headline Glastonbury and after hearing this album it’s easy to think that one day that might just have happened….