Dublin isn’t known for groups of friends clad out in the latest in blues-inspired charity store chic, focused on producing timeless, harmonised melodies. The Hot Sprockets are out of step with the scene and forging their own path, but evolving into their newly psychedelic phase, they win plaudits simply by being great at what they do…

If you heard a track of two of The Hot Sprockets music, and were then asked to stick a pin in a map identifying where they come from, you’d probably stick the point somewhere on the fringes of a Texan city, a spot with plenty of raucous rock influences, but a distinct country twang known for effortless, whisky-bar showmanship.

The five-piece actually hail from different corners of Dublin, having spent much of their performance-loving career entertaining their own niche with a thunderous live show. They rumble between gigs in an ageing Nissan Micra and very much live for their music. Newly released third-album ‘Dream Mover’ is the latest stage in a slow-paced and precisely crafted evolution.

“It’s a bit more psychedelic, the production is a real step up from [second album] ‘Brother Nature’, and the song writing’s better than the last record. We feel like we’re really evolving as songwriters,” multi-instrumentalist Frankie Kelly tells us of the new release.

“We had a lot more than just the ten songs on the album, but we picked the best ones and spent a lot of time working on them, improving them and developing the sound. Much more went into it than anything we did before.”

“There are three writers in the band, so between us we’re always writing at home. Some of the tracks we might look at once and never see again. Others make demo stage and the best make it all the way. There are hundreds of songs. We’ve done three-hour setlists of original material before.”

“Frank’s sister is on the album and will be touring a bit with us,” vocalist Tim Cullen adds. “This is the first album that we’ve had a backing singer on. For the ‘Brother Nature’ tour we were getting Amy to back us up a lot, as it kind of suited the sound. When it came to recording, we thought why not get her in on three or four tracks.”