Despite the constant line up changes, there is no question as to who is the real star in the BellRays. Blessed with a voice like Tina Turner straddling Polystyrene, singer Lisa Kekaula is the key player, the obvious focal point on an album that fuses all the best bits of funk, soul and punk into something guaranteed to get even the most ardent shoe-gazer dancing.

With political and racial messages in the lyrics, there is a depth and passion to the BellRays which separates them from their peers. Indeed, at a time when the supposedly alternative music scene revolves as much around hype and image as the pop charts, it is hard to name a band that could be classed alongside the BellRays. You have to go back to MC5 to find something even close.

The album is infused with a sinister undertone, evident on 'Evil Morning' in particular, giving the album a further edge over the inoffensively sterile music currently championed by the media in general.

The pace lets up only for a few pointless interludes, and the soulful 'Have a Little Faith in Me', which prevents the album being too one-sided. The ingredients may not be new, but it is the sheer vitality of the band and the album which make it an essential addition to any record collection.