Crumlin’s finest melodic MC KhakiKid is back with his third EP in as many years with ‘Moanbag’. Despite the downbeat title, ‘Moanbag’ comes replete with four colourful tales of getting messy as only a twenty-something can.

Rising Irish star F3miii brings his dulcet tones to the party on the lush and lightly funky boy-meets-girl ‘Germ’, which unfurls as smoothly a Mac Wetha joint. Lead track ‘Date Night’ has a low-key Motown feel thanks to its shuffle-y drum pattern and simple recurring guitar riff that wouldn’t feel out of place on a vintage Mary Wells track.

Saint Demarcus‘ honeyed harmonies instil the track further still with a classic vibe as KhakiKid laments the difficulties of modern relationships and regales us with one-liners about hardmen who are afraid of children in tracksuits and doing the stride of pride.

‘Boy Racer’ takes an unexpected weave into modern country pop. There are echoes of Post Malone and Macklemore throughout as KhakiKid unloads about his less-than-ideal living quarters. Sure, it’s on trend, but it feels a hell of a lot more genuine than a lot of larger artists who have donned Stetsons in recent times. ‘AppleBottomCigarets’ finds KhakiKid on more familiar footing, slamming pints and pills and questioning every aspect of his life like a vexed TV detective.

With production from the likes of Chameleon, F3miii and Alex Naim, ‘Moanbag’ is a vivid affair that more than justifies the hype surrounding KhakiKid. It feels like he’s on the precipice of connecting all the dots, but the next step has to be an album.