In a short amount of time Grant Smillie and Ivan Gough, under their guise TV Rock, have made major waves in the Australian dance music community. With their chart topping single Flaunt It, and follow-up production Bimbo Nation, the duo have enhanced their reputation as quality electro house producers. On the back of this, they’ve become one of the most well traveled acts on the national club scene, playing all over the country on a consistent basis. Sunshine City is their 11-track debut artist album and is a refreshing collection of funky electro infused house anthems.

The album opener, It Ain’t Easy, kicks things off with a nice tripped out down tempo. This certainly isn’t the sort of song you’d expect to be heard played in a club at 3am, but as album openers go it certainly starts things off nicely. Nancy Vice, who appears prominently on this album, provides the vocals, and while previously unknown to me she does a masterful job with all her touches on the album. Bimbo Nation is the first real highlight, and unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past 6 months you no doubt would’ve heard this song in a club or on the radio. Whether you like it or not, this song works. It gets dance-floors going nationwide and is your perfect Ministry of Sound ‘cheese-house’ type number.

Hip House changes things up a bit with a sleazy underground bass sound matched by the greasy vocals of Seany B. One of the nation’s most prominent house MCs, Seany B has the ability to make songs sound very similar, that being dirty and sleazy; not that this is a bad thing. The fourth installment is the biggest hit of the album and TV Rock’s greatest production to date; Flaunt It. This track has spent months in the top end of dance charts around the country, and rightfully so. Short, powerful and punchy are three words to describe this sleazy electro-house anthem. Seany B once again provides the vocals with devastating effect. Easily the highlight of the album.

Next up is the slightly old school sounding Unstoppable. Tyler Spencer provides the vocals on this fun little number, which adds a new dimension and sound to the album. Wild Boys is yet another track that is graced with the vocals of Nancy Vice. A big-room house sound with electro elements and huge vocals, this is another enjoyable song. While Liftin Me Up takes the album on a more euphoric, big vocal sound courtesy of the angelic Abigail Bailey, it immediately is followed by yet another low slung, dirty and sleazy number with Speaker’s Gonna Blow. The last track on the album, officially anyway, is New Day. Gentle, euphoric and uplifting, simply put; beautiful. This track finishes the album on a magical note and really pushes home TV Rock’s production credentials by revealing yet another side to their production prowess.

There is one final track on this album, a bonus track entitled The Power. This is a collaboration between TV Rock, German house superstar Tom Novy, and Snap! Sampling an old vocal this track no doubt will be headed for the top of the charts upon release. The only gripe I have is that I’d like to hear it played a little bit faster as I think it could have had a devastating effect. Overall I must say I was impressed with this album. While I’m not a big fan of artist albums and am more inclined to buy a mix compilation, for the TV Rock fans nationwide out there they won’t be diisappointed with investing in this.