Once more, the boys from Derry writhe about our ears with a song to smack you about, soaked in insanity. ‘Asleep’, the new single by Touts, is perfectly dilapidated and aggressive, bathed in an authentically punk mentality, the likes of which is relatively hard to come across these days. Long-haired, beautifully curated indie has a strong grip on guitar music at the moment, and Touts are, and have been for a while, a breath of dirty, dirty (fresh) air. Touts know exactly what they want to be – music that doesn’t take shit from anybody.

Matthew Crossen’s vocals manifest themselves as the screams of a preacher, and the pounding, plosive drive of the drums lift the chorus to the musical articulation of a kick in the head. Luke McLaughlin’s rumbling bass retains a melodic fervour, with his backing vocals creating a choral effect that perfectly glues the track together. The Irish boys are currently out on the road supporting Blossoms, an interesting pairing that is embedded within a kind of ‘discordia concourse’. The crowd is sure to be exposed to a fat dose of loaded energy before Blossoms have even touched the stage – that much is certain.

‘Asleep’ is out now