Latest releases reviewed

DAVE ALVIN
Ashgrove
YepRoc Records

If Ray Wylie Hubbard is top of the class this week (see CD of the Week), then former Blaster Dave Alvin deserves a serious merit badge for an album packed with attitude, good tunes and great playing. Alvin has been a cornerstone of American roots music for more than 20 years, a spiky, intelligent, knowledgeable maverick who goes his own way. For this collection he, too, is in reflective mode, tracing his steps in the title track back to the LA blues club where he saw greats such as the Rev Gary Davis and Buddy Guy. The reflective theme continues throughout, both in soft focus and harsh recall; standout tracks include the sleazy Out of Control, the sensitive The Man in the Bed, the steaming Black-Haired Girl and Black Sky, with guitarist and producer Greg Leisz outstanding. www.davealvin.com  - Joe Breen

EUGENE BROSNAN
Solid Ground
Ossian
***

Millstreet singer/songwriter Eugene Brosnan boxed and bagged his début, Solid Ground, in a matter of days, and there's a bare-boned feel to the collection that's a trademark of such endeavours. Brosnan's strength lies in his songwriting, with a foot in the Jim Page camp of succinct, canny storytelling. His guitar and harmonica lend an able, if unremarkable accompaniment, but his Achilles tendon is his voice, which never manages to rise past pedestrian. With a repertoire that stretches from Warren Zevon to Bruce Springsteen and Paddy Kavanagh (chancing an unremarkable cover of Raglan Road), Brosnan's most urgent requirement is for a sharp producer who'll trim the edges, slough off the excess and hone what is a highly promising songwriting talent.

www.eugenebrosnan.com - Siobhán Long