Lisa Hannigan now has no excuses. Damien Rice’s decision to end his musical relationship with her, a move expedited by whatever happened between soundcheck (which featured both of them) and show (which featured Rice on his lonesome) in Munich a fortnight ago, means Hannigan can now concentrate fully on that much talked about solo album.

Not surprisingly, her rep will have been fielding calls from record labels all week – a talent like this only comes along once in a while.

A listen to Hannigan’s version of John Martyn’s “Couldn’t Love You More”, a currently unreleased collaboration with Faultline’s David Kosten, whets the appetite for what she could do beyond the Rice fold.

Add in what she showed on her contributions to last year’s Oxfam-friendly “Cake Sale” album and there’s a potentially excellent debut in the works. All she needs now are the songs and we’re sure there are plenty of generous songwriters willing to help out.