Paula Frazer

It's difficult to believe that someone as good as Paula Frazer could attract no more than 30 people to see her play a rare solo gig. Frazer's band Tarnation - who played Dublin more than 12 months ago to a packed audience at the same venue - may be a minority interest, but this was taking their cult status to a ridiculous degree.

Frazer's set was brief, but full of mercurial delights. In her first song, Destiny, she sang of her yearning for a return to the way things used to be. This is surely emblematic of her fragile, beautiful art, for there is something of the harsh nostalgist about the woman, her lyrics, and her voice. Her voice in particular is an instrument you could lose yourself in for weeks - by turns a whispered lament, keening howl, mellow, melancholic, and ever so slightly, achingly, out of tune.

In another song, Frazer sings of tranquil dreams, but the main impression one receives from her lyrics is that she has had her fair share of sleepless nights. Whatever the reason for her bleak vision, the brilliance of her output removes her from an atmosphere of total despondency. Slap your wrists now - you really should have been there.