MONA DEBUT ALBUM REVIEW.

Monday morning I literally raced down to make sure I was on time for the post man. At 9am a knock on the door came and signed for my long awaited MONA Album. After seeing this band live in February at a venue with no more than 100 people the words 'long anticipated, awaited' don't cover just how much I wanted my copy of their album, stat. And of course, as expected, I wasn't disappointed.

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For a long time rock appears to have gone out of the window. Gone are the kids picking up instruments to be like their idols, instead enter the ones who think bopping is cool and all singing voices sound like a robot. Since their arrival to the UK in July 2010, Mona have been swamped, swimming in 'hotly tipped' MTV titles and brands of all sorts and this album only strengthens that praise. If rock were to need saving then my god Mona have easily put themselves on the map as the ones to reignite passion into the argued 'dead' genre.

Armed with Ray-Bans, southern charm and drive, from relentless touring that have delivered the likes of sucker punch triple threat songs Listen To Your love, Teenager and Shooting the Moon with 100mph stage presence that can easily blow your mind. After being teased with EP after EP, tour date after tour date, to actually have studio tracks blasting into ears around the country is ridiculously fulfilling.

Opener Cloak and Dagger kicks off their self-titled debut with an interesting feel of confident plucks that could easily capture the few of a dingy bar to vast echoey arena settings. Lead vocalist Nick Brown's voice soothes like caramel, melting and at times croaking with throat-punching urgency as he delivers drawling soars.

Whilst obvious influences of Kings of Leon and U2 are peppered throughout, particularly in Lines In The Sand, the force hurled through the airwaves from strong swoon filled guitars and warm roundedness leaves little doubt that this is nothing but Mona.

Shooting the Moon (arguably one of my favourites) is torrent of massive fuzz sound that rapidly builds into a sea of head banging, festival happy, masses. Whilst Alibis (another of my favourites) and Say You Will reveal the Nashville rockers' are more than one trick ponies, showcasing emotional, impassioned sincerity.

There is no doubt about it, this album is a pulverising attack on the popular aspects of today's youth electronic music; by passionately ramming battering, melodic lyrics of love and youth with guitar led anthems that will easily sky rocket this band up the charts and rightly so!