Tindersticks: "Curtains" (This Way Up) Dial-a-track code: 1971
If the music of Nick Cave is a grand cathedral of guilt-edged doom, then Tindersticks' sound is a lonely garret on the left bank, where love lies cracked and bleeding on a dusty floor. The Nottingham-based band have carved out their own knotted style of downbeat pop, and their sixth album, Curtains, unveils even more levels in the band's ever-widening emotional range. Songs like Rented Rooms. Let's Pretend and Desperate Man are soaked in bitter continental flavours, and spiced up by the deep, desolate vocals of Stuart Staples. Another Night In is a rich, string-laden sequel to A Night In, and The Ballad Of Tindersticks is a darkly humorous autobiography of the gloomiest, yet most uplifting band in Britain.
Katell Keineg: "Jet" (Elektra) Dial-a-track code: 2081
The second album from the Welsh/Breton singer-song-writer is a delicate filigree of folksy sound held together by some wrought-iron rock styles, and backed up by an arsenal of ethnic instruments. You'd need an ancient mariner's chart to follow Katell's lyrical travels through songs like Ole Conquistador, Leon or and Mother's Map, but her more flimsy flights of fancy are balanced by solid tunes like Veni Vidi Vici and the superb Smile. Katell's soft, languid voice brings an intimacy to Venus and There You Go, but there are moments of overindulgence on Enzo `96 and Hoping And Praying. Overall, however, Jet is a well-woven tapestry of styles.
Maura O'Connell: "Wandering Home" (Hannibal HNCD 1410) Dial-a-track code: 2191
Maura O'Connell was destined to record a collection of traditional songs ever since she left De Dannan.
Laced with a defining layer of longing, her voice is perfectly suited to tunes such as A Stor Mo Chroi and West Clare songs, given that she is a form of prodigal singer returning to her roots.
Tracks like I Hear You Calling also tap into the musical influences from years living in Nashville, while Irish Blues inhabits the space between both shores. Glorious stuff. Teddy O'Neill shows, without a doubt, why Maura deserves her title as one of Ireland's finest singers.
Wandering Home is a must-have album, especially for the sad of heart among the Irish diaspora.
