THIRTY years is a long time by any conventional yardstick, but it's a positively eternal stretch in rock and roll.
Few acts manage to endure for such an extended stint and fewer still keep their creative juices stewing productively throughout.
However, West Midlands-bred indie heroes The Wonder Stuff are one such bunch of hardy perennials.
The Miles Hunt-fronted 'Stourbridge scene' veterans have weathered deaths (RIP Bass Thing and Martin Gilks), tartan suits, 'novelty' singles, innumerable bust-ups and time off for bad behaviour – 1994 to 2000 to be precise, thus neatly swerving the deadly 'year zero' revisionism of the Britpop-era UK music press – to remain very much a going concern.
The Stuffies have released a trilogy of new albums since 2000's hugely well received reunion, the most recent being 2012's deliciously titled Oh No... It's The Wonder Stuff, and have been kicking up the dust and empty plastic pint glasses at venues the length and breadth of the Britain and Ireland ever since.
Mr Hunt might be the last remaining set of limbs from the Stuffies' original 'eight legged groove machine' but he's kept the band in fine fettle with an evolving line-up of players: fiddler Erica Nockalls and bassist Mark McCarthy have been constants since 2004, while the current line-up features none other than Belfast-born former Watercress (ask your da) man Dan Donnelly on guitar alongside drummer Tony Arthy.
These have recorded the Stuffies' forthcoming eighth LP, 30 Goes Around The Sun, an album you can pre-order today via Pledgemusic.com/projects/the-wonder-stuff to ensure it is with you on the release date of March 18.
Newcomers and sceptics can get a feel for the record and indeed The Wonder Stuff circa 2016 on Wednesday at The Limelight in Belfast, a 30th anniversary show guaranteed to be punctuated with greatest hits and related indie disco flashbacks.
It's still yer money they're after (baby), but by God they've proved themselves worthy of every penny.
Onwards to a 100 per cent Irish musical contingent, namely those September Girls from that Dublin.
This fully female five piece, who specialise in atmospheric and often fabulously noisy shoegazey goth-tinged fuzzpop, are gearing up for the release of their second LP, Age of Indignation.
Due out early next month (April 8, to be precise) on the Fortuna Pop label, the record is going to be right up the alley of anyone who wishes like-minded contemporaries such as Desperate Journalist, Veronica Falls and Dum Dum Girls were a bit heavier, more psychedelic and, like, wilfully weird, man.
Indeed, even those who found September Girls' 2014 debut Cursing The Sea to be just a tad on the timid, jangly side of the psyche spectrum compared to their more reliably ferocious live sound will find their prayers have been answered second time around.
Last year's more pointedly abrasive/concussive Veneer EP was a definite hint at the the sound of the new record and their selection of loud/quiet/loud gloomgaze stormer Love No One as its lead single is also a statement of intent.
The song finds their trademark breathy vocals and 'girl group' harmonies present and correct, but this time they are being buffeted from below by a much more satisfyingly forceful, teeming mess of woozy guitar, clattering death drums and driving doom bass.
There's plenty more darkly beautiful goodness where that came from on an album that finds the Girls putting paid to any 'two trick ponies' style accusations that might once have been fired in their direction.
Expect a full review closer to its release – for now, content yourselves with watching the symbolism-riddled video clip for Love No One at Septembergirls.tumblr.com.
What can it all mean, eh?
You can ask them in person once you've time to get to grips with Age of Indignation in full: the Girls will be celebrating its release with a run of album launch dates including an engagement at Lavery's in Belfast on Friday April 29.
Noise Annoys will surely be there, and it expects no less from your good selves.
