Today I Realised I Could Go Backwards Delphi ****

The vitality and energy of the songs on We Cut Corners' spry, spruce debut album will have you paying attention to this pair of Dublin schoolteachers. Conall O'Breachain and John Duignan's dramatic songs owe a lot to both careful craft (you can hear this in how lyrical lines have been minutely pared and parsed) and their maturing as musicians. It's to their credit that they've chosen not to accentuate the limitations of their guitars and drums set-up by simply blasting the volume, and have instead turned such minimalism into a virtue by pushing the harmonies to the fore.

Three People, The Leopard

and

A Pirate's Life

echo The Frames and Conor O'Brien in their ebbs and flows, while

Go Easy

is a magnificent, heartwarming thrill. There are hints of clever wit at work on the likes of

Are You a Man or a Mannequin

- and, better still, notions of bigger challenges and triumphs to come. See wecutcorners.net

Download tracks: The Leopard, Go Easy, Three People