AMBITIOUS Blackburn band Tompaulin are preparing to move things up a gear as they release their debut album 'The Town and The City' on Monday.

The eight-piece mark the launch with a special show at Manchester's Roadhouse on Wednesday night and are already making plans for their first major UK tour.

Frontman Jamie Holman, who lectures at Blackburn College, revealed they recorded the album and an EP in just a fortnight at Liverpool's Great Northern Studios.

Working with producers Rob Ferrier and Alan Wilkes, much of the material was put down in just one take and as a result they believe the speedy work has captured the essence of their music.

Jamie said: "We're all immensely proud of the record. We were doing about a track a day but it was the getting the final mixes that took the time".

Drawing on life around him for the inspiration to the lyrics he refutes allegations that he's having a swipe at his hometown in the album.

He said: "Blackburn's a really exciting place for us to be. I came back here after university because I was really positive about the place but I don't see things through rose-tinted glasses. "

He's also been really impressed with many of the other acts on the local scene who are ready to break through themselves.

He said: "From Bury to Burnley bands are being short-listed for the Mercury Music Prize and watched by A&R men."

The fact there is no animosity between them and they all sound so different is why the area is attracting so much interest from the record labels.

Picking out fellow Blackburn group The Burn he said: "They're a great band and not many people realise they got one of the biggest deals of last year. When they get propelled it's going to happen very quickly."

He added: "Bands around here have gone beyond that short term ambition, they're aware of what they can achieve and why not?"

REVIEW: Get your money on this for Mercury prize

THIS is the most important album to come out of Blackburn in years but it demands a little time to get into the band's mindset.

Yes there are instantly accessible moments like the bright, big band opener, My Life At The Movies, but from then on the intensity of the work needs that patience for the genius to shine through. Forget the obvious comparisons with Belle and Sebastian, similarities here, are simply restricted to the boy/girl vocal and both band's unorthodox approach to the industry.

Instead Tompaulin have become to Blackburn what Elbow are to Bury providing an often dark but a very poignant soundscape for their respective towns.

In just over 40 minutes, Jamie Holman takes us on a whistle-stop tour of Blackburn and its suburbs.

Characters as diverse as a day dreaming factory worker, lost in her cinematic fantasy world and a boy hairdresser working with the purple rinse brigade each have their own chapters. The bookmarks are obvious but ordinary enough to be mirrored in towns across the country. The acoustic driven, Kicking and Punching, underlines the point. A violent struggle set behind King George's Hall captures a specific picture but it's the sort of drunken brawl that takes place in any town on a Saturday night.

Set to a simple acoustic guitar and Hammond organ line it's Holman's poetic lyrics that bring life, depth and in this case a slice of wit to such a mundane subject. Lines like "It was a backstreet kicking and the only thing missing was the vulture on the wall" and "I still remember his tattoos, he had a swallow on each hand just to show he was a sensitive man." are examples of the quality of his writing that run throughout the album.

There are no single standout tracks, only personal favourites. It's a collection that knits well together and an album that could easily grace the short-list of next year's Mercury Music Prize.

Clive Lawrence (9/10)