The Assist are back with more guitar-led indie rock, and this time it’s a lot more jaunty and upbeat than usual.

‘In Your Ear’ is exactly what we expect in an Assist track, and more. It’s brimming with raw, punchy energy and the kind of drums that get you pumped and ready to take on the world. And The Assist lads, never shy about their fondness for them, bring out the tempo changes to turn a gliding indie song into a bit of a 90’s Britpop throwback.

But as optimistic the instrumentation sounds, the vocals ring with a melancholy that somehow gels well with the instrumentation, offering a definite contrast to the self-assured optimism of the band’s last outing.

So what to make of the band’s first release of 2015? It’s a classic Assist track, showing a slightly new shade of their established indie-rock-with-punk-undertones sound, and one that keeps their audience hanging on eagerly for news of an album.