The latest releases reviewed.

ZOË CONWAY
The Horse's Tail
Tara
****

Many artists don't feel the yen to bring it all back home until they've exhausted every click and overdub in the recording studio. Zoë Conway's second album is a return to the raw bar, a lithe-spirited, bareboned collection that celebrates the electricity of solo and ensemble playing. Conway is at her best when she lets the fiddle do the talking. Wild Strawberry Hill/The Horse's Tail, both Conway originals, span the breadth of her playing, blossoming from the mournful opener to the spangly title tune, revelling in its technical wizardry but never sinking beneath it. Her singing voice is sweet but unremarkable, and at times Steve Cooney's guitar accompaniment is over-zealous, but The Horse's Tail is a snapshot of a musician hurtling headlong into her prime. www.zoeconway.com     Siobhán Long