After charming us with their swaggering 2016 debut, Don’t Feel Like Daylight, Dublin rockers Hotel On Mars went on sabbatical. Now back in business and trimmed down to a two-piece, the pair unleash their second sonic manifesto, The Government Took The Rest.

It’s a brave, genre-bucking opus that showcases a growth in songwriting – and an increased penchant for kicking against the pricks.

Impossible to pigeonhole, the twosome expertly move through a variety of genres: doo wop and hip hop on ‘War On War’; European techno, ska and INXS-style rock on ‘Selfie’; and ’70s glam on ‘Don’t Believe In Anyone’. As enjoyable as robust indie rockers ‘It’s You’ and ‘Spotlight’ are, the duo really dazzle on ‘Foxhole’ and ‘Lame’. Both deliciously dark efforts, the former is a violin-led murder ballad with a diabolically good hook, while the latter is a string-swept slow burner that signs off the record in considerable style.

OUT FEBRUARY 28.

Hotel On Mars
The Government Took The Rest
Label: head4rent
Listen to: ‘Foxhole’
Rating: 7/10