Manchester-based four-piece consisting of Tarek Musa, Pete Darlington, Andy Morton and James Green are Spring King were big news when Apple launched its own radio station, Beats 1.

Brilliantly, Zane Lowe, the station’s figurehead, chose City by Spring King to be the first-ever song played on the service.

There are literally millions of other tracks he could’ve chosen. So what is it about the Manchester-based quartet that he liked so much?

The band seems to be the singular vision of Musa, a prodigiously talented musician and producer of other bands, and the energy he puts into everything the band does is not in question.

At some of their early gigs, Musa would play the drums until he quite literally vomited on stage. It happened a few times. Some commitment to the cause.

Musically, there’s the spikiness of post-punk and the messiness of garage rock fused to form something that’s really quite great.

Debut album Tell Me If You Like To was released in June, but featuring many songs that were already available, it didn’t really feel as fresh as it might. They’re a prolific bunch, though, so it’s highly likely they’re already almost done with a second album and that will definitely be the one to judge them on. Their debut album is out now, available to buy and stream from all the usual places.

There are also a handful of EPs and singles to choose from. Download their track City to see what attracted Zane Lowe, and Who Are You?, which is among their very best songs. You can get all of this from the band’s own website too (www.springkingband.com). Most excitingly of all, Spring King are touring in January and February too, where you might even get a glimpse of new material. Check out their website for ticket details.