The latest releases reviewed

ALEJANDRO ESCOVEDO The Boxing Mirror Back Porch ****

Alejandro Escovedo, who finally makes it to this year's Kilkenny Rhythm & Roots Festival, has been through the mill in recent years. A gruelling time with Hepatitis C and the death of his father have had a profound impact, as is clear from this, Escovedo's first album since 2002. Produced by John Cale, as in the Velvet Underground, this is a propulsive and intense affair, driven as much by Jon Dee Graham's sharp guitar as by Cale's contemporary chamber classical influences and Escovedo's powerful lived-in voice. The 11 songs are written by Escovedo, some with his wife Kim Christoff, and they mostly betray the Velvets' influence, though he is as happy whipping through a 12-bar as he is on the more ambitious arrangements. As if to point this out, the inevitable hidden track is a rocking reprise of the more convoluted Take Your Place. www.alejandroescovedo.com

JEFFREY FOUCAULT Ghost Repeater Signature *****

Ghost Repeaters are empty radio stations that play demographically profiled playlists to wide swathes of middle America, but in Jeffrey Foucault's quietly brilliant new album they air the soundtrack to a world caught between "heart and bone". Since his last album of new folk, Foucault has married and his country has sunk further into a miasma of despair. The poles of "one part love and one part grief" are captured in the hazy poetry and the folk blues sounds of his songs. There are no declamatory tracks about wars or politicians, but the rich language speaks of a world where darkness threatens all - though the light of love shines on in the unlikely barroom in Mesa, Arizona, and the hand of friendship reaches out in Tall Grass in Old Virginny. Throughout it all, producer Bo Ramsey's delicate touch is immaculate, his own guitar playing illuminating what is a very fine album indeed. Foucault starts a short Irish tour next Tuesday, which includes Whelan's and Kilkenny. www.jeffreyfoucault.com