THE Young’uns have long been an unmissable live act thanks to their heady brew of full-throated harmonies, crackling energy, political passion and easy wit.

The Teesside trio’s fourth album Strangers (Hereteu Records) not only confirms their class as singers and arrangers but catapults Sean Cooney into the front rank of folk songwriters.

In a leap forward for Cooney, all but one of the songs here flow from his pen. To mark an era of refugee crisis, terrorism and resurgent fascism, the album finds the usually rambunctious trio in uncharacteristically reflective mood, taking as its theme outsiders, wanderers and everyday heroes.