Eleanor McEvoy

I'd Rather Go Blonde,Moscodisc ***

After 20 years in the business, Eleanor McEvoy is perhaps still best known for her achievement with A Woman's Heart. Still, the trajectory of her solo career has maintained a steady level across seven albums. Her eighth is another easygoing collection that straddles the boundaries of trad/folk (the title track) and soul-tinged adult-oriented pop ( The Thought of You), wrapped up in the Dubliner's distinctive, (although occasionally over- pronounced) vocals.

Enlisting young blood - Ross Turner and Gavin Fox - for her band seems to have paid dividends on the ambitious surging crescendos of tracks such as Take You Home. There's always the danger that McEvoy could be dismissed as "Lisa Hannigan's mum" or some such thing, but her corner of the market remains comfortably secure, if perhaps a little humdrum.

See eleanormcevoy.net

Download tracks: The Thought of You, Look Like Me