Through raucous live shows, countless festival appearances and an unrelenting desire to succeed, Otherkin have deservedly made quite a name for themselves over the past two years. ‘The 201 EP’ is their first release on Rubyworks, and it boasts four tracks packed with the kind of zealous confidence that only young lads from Dublin possess.

Opening with the aforementioned debut single Ay Ay, a track that’s balls to the wall, straight-up rock and roll and recently featured in an ad for Rimmel,. The jangly indie guitars are intertwined with a grungy urgency that leaps out at you, while the vocal hook in the chorus will have you singing along involuntarily. The melody carried by the guitar is the kind that is the pinnacle of good indie rock, and due to this, it draws you in with its odd familiarity.

Feel It doesn’t feature quite as much oomph as other tracks on the album and the lack of a fuzzy guitar effect as is seen during its live performance is sorely missed, but the rhythm section truly shine as they push the song to its limits. Love‘s A Liability is an anti-love song that candidly states; “I’m so bored with you// love’s a liability.” It knocks the tempo down a few rungs without stripping things back entirely, and serves as a strong end to the EP.

Otherkin are carefully testing the waters by being both poppy and grungy, and they’re doing a damn good job of it. The grungy guitars create a bit of an edgy vibe while the poppy melodies and vocal lines make them radio friendly and utterly impossible to not hum along to. ‘The 201 EP’ is oozing with confidence and you can almost hear how much enjoyment the band have gotten out of recording it and playing together. The energy of a live setting is never going to be captured on a studio record, but this EP will certainly serve as encouragement for those who haven’t witnessed the band live to change that.