UK car tragedy band's debut album released

The debut album by British indie band Viola Beach, who were killed when their car plunged off a canal bridge in Sweden, was posthumously released on Friday.

Band members Jack Dakin, Kris Leonard, Tomas Lowe and River Reeves died with their manager Craig Tarry in February when their car plunged more than 25 metres (80 feet) in Sodertalje, southwest of Stockholm.

Following the tragedy, their debut single "Swings and Waterslides" entered the British singles chart and topped the iTunes chart.

Their debut album, entitled "Viola Beach", contains nine songs including "Swings and Waterslides".

"We are tremendously proud of everything the boys achieved in such a short space of time," the families of the band said in a statement.

"We believe the best way to celebrate our sons' lives is to release an album of their songs.

"This is their legacy and we know deep in our hearts that the boys would want the world to listen to the music they poured everything into."

The five men were aged between 19 and 32.

The band's car drove through a signal light and two barriers towards a canal bridge which had not fully shut after letting a vessel pass underneath.

A preliminary autopsy found that the driver did not have "elevated levels of drugs or alcohol" in his body, and surveillance footage from the bridge provided no clues to the cause of the accident.

Coldplay performed one of their songs when they headlined the Glastonbury Festival in June.

Music magazine NME said the album would "leave a smile on your face".

"Viola Beach's name will always be synonymous with tragedy, but at least now we have a document of who this band were -- and what they might have achieved," it said.