The Dears turn back the clock on brilliantly bittersweet tune "1998"

The track follows "Of Fisticuffs" in previewing the follow up to 2015's Times Infinity Volume One.

"[It's] kinda old school Dears, but wearing a slightly updated outfit," explains the band's Murray Lightburn. "It tells a specific story that actually happened - it’s a happy story, actually."

Despite being about "a happy story", it's not overtly upbeat, with sinewy strands of melancholia woven through each shuffling beat and grand refrain. There's an odd finality to the bittersweet broth as it gallops towards a climactic, emotional release in the closing seconds - Lightburn and fellow founder Natalia Yanchak craft another outsider pop gem.

The Dears have a UK/Ireland tour planned for autumn, including a stop at London's Oslo on 7 October. Find out more about the duo's live plans below; tickets are on sale from 18 May.

October

• 5 - OXFORD Academy 2
• 6 - BRIGHTON The Haunt
• 7 - LONDON Oslo
• 9 - PORTSMOUTH Wedgewood Rooms
• 10 - MANCHESTER Deaf Institute
• 11 - NEWCASTLE Academy 2
• 12 - GLASGOW King Tuts
• 13 - LIVERPOOL Academy 2
• 15 - DUBLIN The Grand Social
• 16 - BELFAST Empire Music Hall