While the production’s on the money, the album’s personality comes alive through singer Julian Hamilton’s vocals and lyrics. Engaging, flamboyant, funny and even kind of sexy, he sounds like a mixture of David Graham, David Byrne, Damon Alburn and even Neil Tennant occasionally.  Combined with daring sonic efforts by programming Preset Kimberly Moyes, tracks like Talk Like That charge along, with a dramatic church pipe organ and rolling basslines meeting echoing lyrics about dirty adolescent sex. 

Also particularly good are Eucalyptus, where punky headshaking broken beats intersperse with some unexpectedly beautiful vocal bridges, and This Boy’s In Love, rivaling the best moments of Franky Goes To Hollywood or the Pet Shop Boys’ back catalogues. 

by Armagan Acikalin