Shrewsbury unsigned band The Sunset Beach Hut prepare for new single release this weekend

Friendship is a recurring theme for many of our Unsigned bands.

That meeting of musical minds, fusing of influences and shaping of styles. It's born out of a love of music shared between two or more people and fostered at an often early stage in life when they are at their most curious.

It's not clichéd. It's refreshing and warming at a time when community spirit seems to be at an all-time low given continued violent headlines.

It also makes the name The Sunset Beach Hut even more tranquil. Thoughts immediately drift to warmer climes, a cocktail (or six) and happy holiday memories.

Ben Thomas, aged 19, and 20-year-old Matty George are Shrewsbury lads joined to complete the indie pop trio by Aphra Smith, 21, from Malpas in Cheshire.

The three have been long-time friends, as Matty explains.

"It started with me and Ben playing music in my room," he says. "We both really enjoy the music of The Japanese House, Bombay Bicycle Club and Hippocampus and they all had a huge influence on the path we took and the music that we wrote.

"The band came about through a mutual love of music. We had all been in bands together in the past and we were all really good mates and so it all just fell into place."

That mutual love of music both previously produced themselves and released by their idols led to them releasing new material under The Sunset Beach Hut banner.

They told us that they had been in the studio a lot recently and that we would 'have to wait and see' what the outcome was, and since then they have confirmed via their Facebook page last Saturday what that hard work will look like.

In a statement on the social media website, they said: "We are super excited to be releasing our third (and final) release of 2018. Bury is coming out next Sunday so be sure to check it out. Thanks for all the support so far."

Bury - out in just two days - will be their third single, and comes hot on the heels of Upside Down, which hit various streaming outlets in September. Matty said the response to that track had been 'brilliant', so they will no doubt be hoping for more of the same with Bury.

"The response to the track [Upside Down] has been brilliant. We have heard so many nice things about it from so many people and we are over the moon that people are enjoying listening to the track.

"We have always had a lot of support from BBC Introducing Shropshire. We were honoured when they picked our track as Track of the Month as it was something we just were not expecting."

That response is not just reserved for the airwaves either. The new material has been leading to interest from gig promoters who want The Sunset Beach Hut to grace their stages.

"We gigged a lot around the release of Upside Down and we even got the opportunity to play in London – which was great fun," Matty adds. "We all just had a really good time and it will stick in our minds for a while. It was really surreal playing down in London and we had such good feedback and a good vibe off the crowd.

"Coming up to December we have been playing less gigs due to going into the studio. However, in January our calendars will be getting booked up again. We've got some good things coming."

One of those is a date at Birmingham's O2 Academy 3 as part of the Catapult Club nights on January 12, from 7pm.

Sharing the stage with them that night will be a former The Ticket Unsigned page act - Cannock-rooted band La Dharma - as well as Wolverhampton singer-songwriters Bryony Williams and Tehillah Henry, and Danni Virgo.

And Birmingham - particularly The Sunflower Lounge - is a city they hold close to their hearts. As Matty says: "The Sunflower Lounge is definitely our favourite place to play, we love the venue and have had some amazing gigs there supporting some amazing bands such as Spinn, Peaness and Stereo Honey; and shared some great memories with our friends in La Dharma and Echo Beach.

"We really hope to get down there again to play and we also want to try visit more new cities next year."

The O2 Academy 3 night will be a good show, and slightly different to their usual stomping ground - the comparatively quiet scene in their native Shropshire.

"The Shropshire music scene is just hitting off, possibly due to the current boom in the West Midlands," says Matty. "There are some great bands such as Echo Beach and Here Casino, and venues such as Albert's Shed, The Pour House and The Shrewsbury Coffee House [all in Shrewsbury] that have a lot of character and a great future."

And they are keen to see other acts follow in their footsteps too so that burgeoning Shropshire scene doesn't stop dead just as it is getting started. To that end, Matty had some advice for any other burgeoning acts.

He said: "Just keep going, do what you enjoy, make music that you actually want to play - not just what's popular.

"That may not be the best advice for a quick shot at fame but it's the way to actually be happy with what you do. Stick to what you enjoy."

Which can be an attitude born only out of that friendship The Sunset Beach Hut and many of our other Unsigned acts seem to share, and once again evokes those vibes of happy sunny holidays.

It should stand them well.

Bury, the new single from The Sunset Beach Hut, will be available to stream online from Sunday. For updates on where to find it, keep an eye on their Facebook and Twitter pages. Tickets to their show at O2 Academy 3 can be bought here.