Rock

Alongside Morrissey and a few other cheerful souls, Lloyd Cole (right) was a lucid antidote to the superficiality of mid-1980s pop music. Literate, tuneful and the owner of cheekbones that could slice cheddar cheese, Cole and his erstwhile band The Commotions constructed bedsit music that was far beyond the remit of one-bar electric fires and jam sandwiches. A solo artist for some time now, Lloyd Cole refuses to trade exclusively on the past. His best known songs are interspersed with fresh material, his demeanour very much in the here and now.

Cole has a rare ability with a tune and almost uniquely he never balks at using literary references in his lyrics, ensuring that he always captures the indiellectual market. He plays Dublin's Vicar Street next Friday and Saturday.