Jinx Lennon: Border Schizo Fffolk Songs for the Fuc**d review – Best work yet from a contrary artist

Co Louth's Jinx Lennon has been lurking in the undergrowth for years, releasing albums and performing shows that, for some, have defined the word "marmite". Like Ricky Gervais's recent (and final) presenting duties at the Golden Globes, however, Lennon doesn't care – he knows his music isn't for everyone, he knows he won't be giving up the day job because of Spotify royalties for the likes of No Homeless People in Drogheda or The Manhole Covers of Dundalk. But, his music implies, that isn't the point. The point is making listeners confront interrogative home truths about society, the environment and the head they live in. Of the 34 tracks on this double album, eleven are spoken/sonic inserts that act as (arguably irrelevant) buffers between the songs. The real deal are hard-edged but textured tunes such as Bend, Sneachta, The Last Days of Cheap Food and, especially, Be Proud (which is virtually anthemic, not a word you would normally use to describe Lennon's songwriting). Softer tunes such as Umbrella Woman, The 29th, and The Most Dangerous Place for a Woman Is in the Home offer a different kind of balm but the narrative outcome is the same: question more, understand better. Lennon remains a contrary artist (Exes and Ohs is, frankly, a tough listen) but Border Schizo Fffolk Songs… is his best work yet. jinxlennon.com