This week's roots reviews

THE SICK AND INDIGENT SONG CLUB

Punch Drunk

Millennium****

"As always, we have no plan except to keep playing music together and having a damn good time doing it!" So said the Sick and Indigent Song Club when announcing the end of their five-year weekly residency at Dublin's Ha'penny Bridge Inn last month. The six-strong band are true to their promise on this, their third and best album to date. The production is better, as is the band's performance, despite some sluggish tracks. Most of the 14 songs are thoughtful, colourful and spirited examples of a wide range of Americana, with Shane McGrath's The Night the Clock Fell Off the Wall a nod to more European traditions. Singers Angie McLaughlin and Gary Fitzpatrick, who wrote most of the songs, clearly have soaked up many influences, but tunes such as the title track, It All Gets Easier, Hudson Dusters and Poor Minnie have real class. www. myspace.com/sickand indigentsong club

Download tracks: Poor Poor Minnie; It all Gets Easier

THE O's

We Are the O's

Idol Records***

Legitimate download sites such as emusic.com have provided those of us who moan about the Nashville country music machine with the opportunity to hear a rake of more rugged alternatives. One such outfit is Texan duoThe O's, whose ambition is to "write and record songs; no plugs, no electrics, just music". Taylor Young and John Pedigo come armed primarily with a guitar, a banjo, a bucketload of attitude and a batch of good songs. So while their sound can be primitive, it's powered by a mighty conviction. Both boast decent track records but, judging by their lively and humorous website, this deliberate stripped-back approach is music to their ears. The songs range from the relatively straight country of We've Had Everything and Diamonds to jangling country- rock such as Finding It Hard and the more manic I Still Wait. I like it even if it sounds like a demo session. www.wearetheos.com

Download tracks: Finding It Hard, We've Had Everything