Jack Peñate - album review

Despite lazy comparisons to fellow Londoners Lily Allen, Kate Nash and Jamie T, Jack Peñate sounds like nothing like his peers. This Blackheath-born boy has got soul – you can hear it in his heartfelt delivery – and when combined with incredibly personal subject matter, explosive melodies and singalong choruses, it makes for something rather special indeed.

There are frankly too many highlights to mention on this Jim Abiss-produced debut. From the frantic scratchy riffs of ‘Spit at Stars’ to ska-tinged anthem ‘Torn on the Platform’, stripped down slow-burner ‘Learning Lines’, the string-soaked ‘We Will Be Here’ and the rhythmic stomp of ‘Second, Minute or Hour’, Matinée is glorious guitar pop at its most infectious. (Camilla Pia)