White Light Fever will no doubt ride on the growing popularity of the big-band orchestrations present in Mark Ronson's recent hits but unlike Ronson, it fully embraces the showtune style as well as bringing some other disparate genres to provide variety.

Initially the album seems fairly monochrome. The horn melodies all sound very similar and the vocals all have the same slight scat-twist to them making the overall impression of the tracks as being a bit samey. However it soon becomes clear what The Kingsize 5 have done with this album. The most appealing track on the album is the seductive Cecilia's Back with its excellent vocal delivery and incredibly dancable beat. On closer inspection it is clear that this track borrows just as much from Kingston as from Chicago employing a distinctly Jamaican undercurrent to the big-band tunes that take up the body track. This is followed by the interestingly dark take on a Glen Miller style song Big Sis Little Sis with a jazz-flute solo and possibly the best bass-line of the whole album. There's Nothing We Can Do is the most unusual track on the album starting like a cheesy pop-ballad before turning up the tempo to a ridiculous level creating a whirling folk melody then suddenly dragging it back to the initial tempo only to propel it even further forwards. This play with the tempo really gives a feeling of frustration to the song as well as an element of insanity. Then there's the rock 'n' roll of I am a Missile and the smooth jazz of Capricorn combined with a little bit of faint noise for good measure throwing a few more genres into the mix.

Lyrically the album is very dark generally dealing with seedier side of life however the words still convey a genuine wit and quality. A quirky cast of characters grace the stage in the album from a femme fatale 'that keeps her lovers on the hook behind the bedroom door' to a satirised version of certain philanthropic pop stars who is 'a very serious artist'. The most noticable feature of the lyrics is the surprising amount of expletives. The jazz/big-band genre is not known for its colourful language so it comes as quite a shock when the odd rude word appears. However it is a further example of how The Kingsize 5 are taking a genre that is generally considered to be tired and dragging it into the 21st century.

On the more negative side I found the horn parts a bit disappointing. The melodies they carried all sounded very similar and didn't really strike me as of especially good quality. There is very little intricacy and the lines are so un-subtle that they detract from th real detail that's present in the vocal sections. Perhaps if the entire horn section wasn't playing in unison then it would work better.

Overall this album is a very fun and yet interesting listen. It takes a few listens before the true merits of the composition come to the foreground but the reward is well worth the effort. If you're not a fan of Glenn Miller or general big-band repetoire then be cautious as it is the base genre of the album but there is enough variety to satisfy most music lovers. This is not a profoundly moving album that will change your life but it is fun and witty with many hours of enjoyable listening packed into its modest appearance.