The Reytons, Kids Off The Estate

Kids Off The Estate, the debut album by the Doncaster, Yorkshire UK band The Reytons is a real banger, to use the British expression. With this said, upon first listen, I will admit that I struggled a bit to take the band and their album seriously on their own musical merits. The Reytons sound an awful lot like the Arctic Monkeys. And lead singer Johnny Yerrell sounds so much like Alex Turner...it was hard not to shake comparisons. But I just kept finding myself coming back to Kids Off The State and came to a place where I had to give them their dues.

Kids Off The Estate is an album bustling with energy and swagger as the band spins gritty working-class stories of life in what I assume is Doncaster with angular guitars, pounding drums, and anthemic choruses. Over the fourteen songs, The Reytons definitely show that they mean business and the album and the band should be taken seriously and on their own merits.