Companionable yet focused, The Young Folk are in the final stages of recording their follow-up to last year’s critically-acclaimed 'The Little Battle'. GoldenPlec stopped by Inchicore to Gavin Glass Studios to see how the Irish folk-poppers are getting on with proceedings.

Upon arrival, Tony McLoughlin guides us through the hall toward their recording studio. Situated unassumingly among a residential area, inside is minimalist yet homely; the perfect driver for the band’s delectable folky sound. The aroma of apple incense permeates around the room. And there are red rugs draped from the ceiling and memorabilia dotted about the studio. It seems warm and free yet structured, rather emblematic in fact of the melodies resonating from the speakers. An adorable Alaskan Shepherd roams around, frequently cosying up to the band, seemingly harmonising the process rather than disturbing it.

Harking back to this balance between freedom and organisation, Tony tells us that although it often takes a while to kick-start the day, he finds that it’s important to begin in the morning. His head, he explains is freer of distraction, his imagination fueled by his dreams of the night before. He then shows us the plan of their album on their whiteboard. Again, free but structured. They’re making their way through fine-tuning the harmonies from their album. Today, they are working on First Sign of Morning. After becoming acquainted with the rest of the band, all amicable and welcoming, it is at this point that we become the proverbial flies on the wall, fading into the background, absorbing the album coming to fruition.

The Young Folk make no effort to hide their influences, namechecking Fleet Foxes, Phil Spector and erm Assassin’s Creed during our time there. Indeed though, vocals sound increasingly monastic. They’re also impressively meticulous, often getting one another to repeat a harmony as many as 10 times until they deem it sufficient. They’re also not scared to take a u-turn, an admirable feat given the progress of their work thus far. Gavin makes no hesitation in adjusting the tone of the outro, describing it as detracting attention away from its melody. Their rhythmic attention is astounding, neither one of the band members ever resting on their laurels, frequently quietly tapping their leg, analysing the quality of their work. Their work sounds more ambitious than their last album but no less accomplished.

It is not difficult to pinpoint the cohesion in their music, the sense of telepathic friendship on show for all to see from their spontaneous break into Walking on Sunshine to their musings on Ireland’s qualifying hopes (Ireland played Germany later that day). With their album due out in February, don’t bet against 2016 being a strong year for The Young Folk.