Cavan fourpiece The Strypes have cause for early celebration this Christmas, having inked a deal with Mercury Records UK, which is part of the Universal Music group. This deal was months in the making, with several major record labels showing an interest in the teenagers over the past few months following a whirlwind 2012 for the band.

Their EP Young, Gifted & Blue was released in April of this year (Friday the 13th, to be precise) and, since then, the band have surged from strength to strength with a rake of live dates drawing huge plaudits from audiences both at home and abroad.

Paul Weller, Glen Hansard and Jeff Beck are among the band's devotees, while publications like The Guardian, NME and Mojo (not to mention this very website) have been effusive in their praise for The Strypes.

This is undoubtedly great news for a band who worked incredibly hard throughout the year. Next year, though, is when things start to get really interesting - and we'll be watching closely.