Brighton alternative darlings Army of Bones have already gained a cult following through a succession of headline tours to sold out and pulsating venues, receiving exposure most notably so far on BBC Introducing and lighting up streaming platforms with their debut double A-sided single “Batteries/River”, and now lead album track “Don’t Be Long”. The moment for Army of Bones to release the clarion call that ‘we will rise up from these ashes, we are singing over you’, as they do on ‘Love Song For A City’ could not be more right.

Noted for an explosive and visceral live show, the band, Martin Smith, Steve Evans, Reuben Harsant and Jonny Bird, have crafted an exceptional and striking debut album, which distills the passion of their live performances perfectly. Produced by Gethin Pearson (Mallory Knox, The Enemy, We Are the Ocean), the record fizzles with purpose. With the crushing power of their bombastic debut single “Batteries”, taking in the summery pop of “Break Away” which explodes into an emotive outro caterwauling guitars, “Don’t Be Long”, or the shattering “The Day The Fire Went Out”, which carries us into the heart of the fight for life and love.

As well as musically crafting what will surely be one of 2017’s standout debut albums, with Army of Bones, we have the all-toorare album with something powerful to say. Songs of hope are infused with doubts. Questions are posed and answers are sought rather than pithily or blithely declared. This is an album with a beating heart, whose light shines brightly. Even as that light shines, it brings those things that are in the dark to light: the pain of a struggling relationship, the lack of place, of identity, the desperation for a city, for a nation, to rise up and realise how precious, how vital all of us truly are.