Built on a simple four-note piano hook, the song soon breaks from the solitary confines of keys and vocal with an onslaught of bracing drums, emotive choral harmonies and muscular guitar slides.

On paper, it's nothing but musical adornment. Headphones in, it's another story. Every element is crystal-clear on the ear, from gentle ganza rattles to ghostly oohs and ahs, presenting a gut-punch of panache that only comes from such solid writing, producing and engineering.

Hobbs sheds some light on what "Animals" is about: "when you’re going through school and growing up, you’re faced with all these pressures and decisions to make, about who you are as a person and how you’re expected to fit in with everyone around you.

"I just wanted to try and capture those feelings with this song.”

"Animals" is released this Friday, 2 September. Catch Hobbs at Sebright Arms on 4 October.

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