Refreshing as the ale they play for, The Broken Hearts Club Band’s debut album makes for a great session.

Self-declared smash-and-grab artists with a tendency to turn up unannounced at local pubs and play for beer, this band have come up with a quirky thirst-quencher of an album.

After much grappling over which 12 songs to feature on it, The Electric Picture Shop album – yes, as in the Electric Picture Shop opposite Fanny’s Ale House in Saltaire, was recorded at Saltaire Recording Studios and is out now.

To celebrate its arrival, the band will be playing upstairs at Fanny’s next Thursday from 8pm. It’s free entry and there’s room for about 60 people – first come, first entertained – but they plan to mingle with those unlucky enough to make it up the steps, staying true to their guerrilla-busking roots.

Live is always best, but The Electric Picture Shop is a close second-best if you want to listen to this band on your own terms – when and where you want rather than waiting on a random gig.

Strains of Elvis, The Stray Cats and The Proclaimers come through on the tracks – there’s Balkan, pop and American influences in the album too – it’s get-up-and-dance material.

The band formed back in March 2010, with Mark Yates on double bass, Craig Bussey on drums and backing vocals and Jez Barraclough doing vocals and guitar.

They took their street sound to the towns and cities of West Yorkshire for a year before rounding out the sound with violin player Alice Gilmour last May.

Since then, they have moved on to performing locally at venues such as Victoria Hall in Saltaire and over at the Brudenell in Leeds.

Interviews aren’t their style, favouring spontaneity instead – one of their best shows ever was earlier this month in someone’s front room during Saltaire’s Art Trail in front of 20 crammed but happy punters.

If you have any spare change, chuck it their way and buy the album, available at their next shows – details of which you can find on their Facebook page.