When Stories From The Surface landed at the top of the Irish charts, it was the culmination of close to a decade of hard graft for HamsandwicH. The Kells band weren't merely leading the way on the sales rundown, but also on the 900th issue of Hot Press.
It is hardly a major shock then that both the chart success and getting her kit off for Kathrin Baumbach's lens stand out in Niamh Farrell's mind when reviewing the year. But it's on foreign shores that 2016's most exciting prospects might lie, as the band gear up for a major tilt at the international market.