This is a review of "The Voltaires" recorded by The Voltaires. The review was written by Ciaran in 2013.

When it takes a band eight years to get their first record out, you know at least one thing: It must have been a labour of love. That's clearly the case with The Voltaires, who have finally released their first full length L.P. after issuing only a handful of EPs and singles since 2005's Anti-Love. The good news is, they weren't wasting their time.

The self-titled disc is 34 minutes of aggresive, energetic, lo-fi punk rock that takes the best elements of the early naughties wave of garage rock 'The' bands - The Strokes, The White Stripes, The Vines - and sprinkles in some more sing along choruses for good measure. (I Hate) Saturday Nights is the song a jittery Elton John may have written the morning after as the coke wore off, while Sad Alone shifts the tone of the set to offer a brief moment of introspection.

Aside from the catchy bass hooks and tightly packed drums, the most stricking thing about The Voltaires is the vocals, with yelping Gareth Williams managing to channel Jack White and Pelle Almqvist, often at the same time.

'I've heard this all before' he sings on Why Oh Why, the downcast cousin of Green Day's Hitchin' A Ride. The truth is, so have you, but in this case that's no bad thing.

The Voltaires is out now through This Is Art Recordings