Sinead Lohan

It's possible there was no irony intended, but as Pink Floyd's Money faded away, on walked the latest-hyped (and hopeful) Irish music sensation. Now signed to major American label, Interscope, in what is purportedly one of the biggest record album deals by an Irish music act, the sound of cash registers resonates through the air. If Sinead Lohan wasn't so good, the sound would have a hollow ring to it. But most of what she does is bang on the money.

Most songs played on Sunday night were taken from her forthcoming second album, No Mermaid. They are such an advancement on those from her debut (1995's Who Do You Think I Am) it's as if they were written and sung by a different person. Gone is the ingenue whose early material suffered from a folksy obtuseness that threatened to stall her from the off. The songs here, ably supplemented by a band whose guitarist, Karl Green, shone in a grunge-lite way.

Largely assertive, they are coated with a dark, sensuous musical gloss that doesn't overshadow the quality of the songwriting. The likes of Out Of The Woods and Disillusioned, and at least a half dozen more, are proof that, as Irish female singer/songwriters go - at least those within the acoustic folk idiom - Lohan is by far the best of the bunch. An excellent gig.