In in time when guitar music feels about as relevant as a Paulie Shore movie, Otherkin have managed to revive rock'n'roll with a verve akin to a jolt from a defibrillator: Sweaty, raw, loud and most importantly, believable. As the old adage goes, it ain’t what you do it’s the way that you do it. Otherkin are by no means reinventing the wheel, but what they are doing is walking the walk and talking the talk and sometimes that’s the hardest thing in the world to do.

The yin and yang of Louise Gaffney and Robert Ardiff’s vocals narrate the plaintive electronic flourishes of ‘In The Still’, a  juxtaposition of tone and delivery which allows Come On Live Long to traverse sonic norms and expectations without fear. ‘In The Still’ is the type of album that quietly pins itself to your heart without fanfare.

A thumping, evocative and dynamic piece of work that's as good as the Belfast act has ever produced, 'The Endless Shimmering' shows an instrumental middle finger to convention. Instead it riffs on extended, swirling melodies, nods to the band's heavier early years, and evokes genuine emotion in saying it without words. It's the kind of album that vibrates right through you when it's playing, and echoes on when it isn't.

In many ways ‘True Care’ was the surprise package of 2017, not because it signalled a major departure in sound for James Vincent McMorrow but because it was a wholly unexpected release; recorded in secret and released less than a year after the critically acclaimed ‘We Move’. ‘True Care’ also showcased the internet’s ability to allow artists strike while the iron is hot and the heart is broken, bypassing the old release structures and releasing music at their own pace, be it quick or slow.

‘Ye Vagabonds’ sews together stark, thoughtful and charming lyrics into melodies and musicality that cloaks its audience in seldom heard ethereal bliss.