Fitz and the Tantrums Bring Their Brilliant Album 'More Than Just A Dream' To The UK [Listen]

It's another busy year for vibrant Los Angeles six-piece Fitz And The Tantrums as they gear up to release their eagerly awaited second album 'More Than Just A Dream' in the UK as well as their super catchy second single 'The Walker'.

Since vocalist Michael 'Fitz' Fitzpatrick formed the group in 2008, they have been seriously impressing music journalists everywhere - even Vogue named them the 'Hardest Working Band' of 2011. Their debut release, 'Songs From A Breakup, Vol. 1' EP, was followed by a short stint supporting Maroon 5 on their Back to School Tour after Adam Levine became impressed while hearing them on the radio. See, everyone loves them! The band; who are vocalists Fitz and Noelle Scaggs, saxophonist James King, keyboard player Jeremy Ruzumna, bassist Joseph Karnes and drummer John Wicks; have also made live appearances on pretty much every talk show you can think of including 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!', 'The Ellen DeGeneres Show', 'Conan', 'The Tonight Show with Jay Leno' and 'Late Night with Jimmy Fallon'.

With such strong support behind them, it was no wonder their first album release 'Pickin' Up The Pieces' was such a breakthrough. The record, which was unveiled in 2010 on Dangerbird Records, received fairly undisputed critical acclaim and reached number one on the Billboard Heatseekers chart. While that was a retro tribute to the soul pop of the sixties, new album 'More Than Just A Dream' takes on a more contemporary feel with its new label Elektra Records.

The first single from the new album was 'Out Of My League', which only promised good things from the rest of the album with its infectious chorus and uplifting synth buzz. After topping the US Alternative chart, fans were left wondering what was coming next. Lo and behold, single number two 'The Walker' came along - and now we can't stop whistling along. With lyrics based on an old eccentric Silver Lake neighbour who enjoyed power-walking around the reservoir without his shirt on, the song has since been used on the official Oscar trailer featuring host Ellen Degeneres dancing alongside 200 other dancers in the street. Be warned, though, when listening to this song; it is likely to give you an earworm for the rest of the year. Another particularly poignant tune is live favourite '6AM', which was recorded rather unconventionally compared with the rest of the tracks as producer Tony Hoffer (Beck, M83, Phoenix) suggested Fitz and Scaggs sang in unison. 'We sang the song to each other, looking into each  other's eyes, it was incredibly powerful and emotional. That's the take that's on the record', says Fitz.

The band are currently on their Spring/Summer US tour during which, true to form, they'll be hitting up load of festivals once again. Among them are the Memphis' Beale Street Music Festival, Maryland's Sweetlife Festival, The Hangout Beach in Alabama, The Governors Ball in New York, Tennessee's Bonnaroo, Bunbury Music Festival in Ohio and Lollapalooza. See more dates on their official website.

'More Than Just A Dream' has been a truly limitless project for FATS. 'The only rule in making this record was that there were no rules', Fitz has confessed. 'Nobody was allowed to say "We can't do that",  We didn't limit ourselves.' It is due for UK release on May 5th 2014.

Listen to 'More Than Just A Dream' here: