Irish Albums of the Decade: 1 - Ash - Free All Angels (2001)

When Ash followed up their wildly successful debut 1977 with the dreary dirges and second-rate Stooges imitations of Nu-Clear Sounds, many feared that the young Downpatrick band had burned out too soon. Main songwriter Tim Wheeler went to ground for a while as he tried to get back in touch with his inner mojo, and the band brought it all back home by deciding to write and record in the same garage where they had made their first steps.

The result was the triumphant Free All Angels, which recaptured the wide-eyed punk-pop vibe (see the bittersweet summertime homage of ‘Walking Barefoot’ or the irrepressible‘Burn Baby Burn’) that first marked them out, while adding a vital dose of maturity (the sublime ‘Sometimes’ perfectly captures the sadness of a break-up with minimum self-pity) and world-weariness (the Spectoresque ‘Someday’) along with some pleasing curveballs (‘Candy’ samples The Walker Brothers to superb effect). ‘Shining Light’ landed Wheeler an Ivor Novello award, and was later covered by Canadian artist Emm Gryner, who threw the song’s classic pop melody into even sharper relief. The album went straight in at number 1, dislodging Janet Jackson: it prompted drummer Rick McMurray to ring her record label and leave his own version of Outkast’s ‘I’m sorry Miss Jackson’ on their answering machine. Good times.

Irish Albums of the Decade: 2 - JJ72 - JJ72 (2000)

"The fact that JJ72 sound completely unfazed even when they screw it all up is what makes this roaringly ambitious debut so captivating...sweltering, emotive crackles of indie guitar thunder that succeed in being as innocent and powerful as any song influenced by the greats. Truly, the magnificence of JJ72 is that they're on top form even when they don't seem to know what they're doing...With a lyrical mash-up of abstract imagery ("Short sleeves and warm skin/losing coins calling next of kin") and glorious bursts of confessional euphoria -- somewhere in between the Sex Pistols and the poems of John Keats -- album peaks like "Oxygen" are extraordinary."

- Allmusic.com

Irish Albums of the Decade: 3 - Gemma Hayes - Night On My Side (2002)

She may have lost her way in recent times, with her music increasingly characterised by bland alt-country arrangements; but debut album Night On My Side marked Gemma Hayes out as a special talent, one that called to mind influences as diverse as My Bloody Valentine, PJ Harvey and Lisa Germano. It’s a captivating record whose strength lies not just in its individual songs but in the impressionistic spell cast by its melancholic atmosphere, discordant guitars and Hayes’ delicate, yearning vocals.

The Tipperary native possesses an extraordinary voice that couldn’t fail to impress if she was singing the contents of a phone book, and the music here ranges from the bleary Americana of ‘Day One’ (as gorgeously understated an opening track as you’re likely to hear anywhere) to the anguished drone of ‘Tear In My Side’ and the churning guitar rhythms of ‘Hanging Around’. The aching minimalism of ‘What a Day’ and the still incredible-sounding ‘Back Of My Hand’ (has there been a better Irish single released in the last 10 years?) epitomise the edge that she’s been struggling to recapture ever since.

Irish Albums of the Decade: 4 - Jape - Ritual (2008)

"Purveyor of the dreamiest, catchiest and most refined electro-rock you're likely to hear this year, Egan's songwriting science has never been exacted as fluidly as it is here. Injecting a dose of wry Dublin wit into his lyrics - often biographical vignettes of his Crumlin childhood (see zappy Korg-tastic pop tune 'Streetwise'), there's a healthy division of bouncy indietronica ('Christopher and Anthony'), anthemic dance-pop ('Apple In An Orchard') and sweet-to-bittersweet acoustic numbers: 'Phil Lynott' is a simple, smile-stimulating tribute to the Thin Lizzy star, while 'At the Heart of All of This Strangeness' supplies a comforting measure of melancholy.

Despite there not being a single duff track here, there are two tracks that go above and beyond their counterparts. 'I Was A Man' treads a blurry line between electro-trad, hip-hop and downbeat pop and is one of the best Irish songs of the past ten years, while closer 'Nothing Lasts Forever''s atmospheric, almost William Orbit/DJ Shadow-esque vibe ends the album on a spine-tingling high."

- Lauren Murphy, entertainment.ie

Irish Albums of the Decade: 5 - Emmet Tinley - Attic Faith (2005)

"Against a low-key backing of muscular guitars and graceful strings, Tinley sings these sweetly wistful songs in an aching falsetto that's often strikingly reminiscent of Jeff Buckley. And while the melodies are not the sort that overwhelm you on a first listen, repeated plays reveals this album to have an emotional depth that most of his contemporaries can only aspire to."

Andrew Lynch, entertainment.ie

Irish Albums of the Decade: 6 - Ten Speed Racer - 10SR (2003)

"An album of rollicking, propulsive rock songs and slower, pensive mid-tempo tracks like 'Overcast' and the utterly gorgeous 'Fifteen'..."

- Ken Fallon, Cluas.com

Irish Albums of the Decade: 7 - David Geraghty - Kill Your Darlings (2007)

"Whether it's the jazzy allure of 'Delgadina' or the Nebraska-sounding 'Cracked Skull', Geraghty shows he's a master of atmospherics, his take on the downbeat intoxicating throughout. With the exception of recent single 'Fear the Hitcher' and the piano-driven 'Kaleidoscope', Kill Your Darlings avoids the uptempo - if you're a fan of slow songs, you'll be in no hurry to go anywhere else."

-Harry Guerin, rte.ie

Irish Albums of the Decade: 8 - Republic of Loose - Aaagh! (2006)

"If there's any justice in the world, this is the album that should see RoL make the transformation from scruffy bums to scruffy megastars. It takes their unique style - a fusion of hip-hop, rap, rock, reggae and soul - and brings it to a new plateau; one that's sleek, impeccably-produced, superbly-crafted and terrifically, inspiringly innovative. Chock-full of funky basslines, intricate riffs and enough attitude to terrify a tracksuit (new collective noun) of gurriers, Aaagh! flits from slinky r 'n' b ('The Translation') to incitements of 80s synth-pop ('Somebody Screamed') and Jamaican Dancehall/ragga ('Na Na Na Na Na Na'), while catchy retro ditty 'Mary Caine' could quite reasonably soundtrack The Kids of Degrassi Street. 'Break!' is like nothing they've ever done before; a throbbing latino/flamenco assault that's interspersed with both a female vocalist's shrill refrain and Pyro's sleazy riposte of 'You like it rough, right?' Indeed, Aaagh! is a sleaze-filled minefield and abounds with tales of temptresses, sexual encounters and promiscuity. The thing is, Pyro's soulful, wiseguy croon is so charmingly coarse that he just about gets away with opening lines like 'Now you're scratchin' your balls, it's 'round a quarter to three..'. His voice, evoking shades of Prince, Michael Jackson, Al Green and even Howlin' Wolf at times, has come into its own here; and with a band providing such accomplished, polished backing tracks, it's given ample opportunity to. The singles in particular leave a marked effect; the streetwise funk-pop of 'Comeback Girl', the old-skool soul of 'Shame' and the sleek production of 'You Know It' epitomise both the diversity and competence on display here."

- Lauren Murphy, entertainment.ie

Irish Albums of the Decade: 9 - Bell X1 - Music in Mouth (2003)

"A hugely self-assured collection of intense yet fragile love songs, Music in Mouth impresses on just about every level. And while Paul Noonan's songwriting contains echoes of everyone from Radiohead to Talking Heads, his erudite lyrics and Irish cultural references give Bell X1 a character all of their own." - Andrew Lynch, entertainment.ie

Irish Albums of the Decade: 10 - Damien Dempsey - Seize The Day (2003)

Bookended by two songs that sound like extracts from a self-help book, this is the kind of album that could fail spectacularly, but it doesn’t: Dempsey’s positive, anti-cynical stance is perfectly measured, helped by the fact that he doesn’t shy away from dark topics like heroin addiction (‘Ghosts of Overdoses’), street violence (‘Factories’) and institutional abuse (‘Industrial School’). His distinctive Donaghmede accent and singing style isn’t to everyone’s taste; but to these ears it’s a formidable instrument in itself, bringing a much-needed novel angle to a singer-songwriting genre that was already becoming overpopulated when this album was released.

While his more politicised, topical songs tend to suffer sometimes from lyrics that are unsubtle and even a little trite, it’s the more personal, philosophical ones where Dempsey really comes into his own - such as the sublime ‘It’s All Good’ (which features terrific backing vocals from Sinead O’ Connor) and the reggae-tinged ‘Negative Vibes’. There’s also evidence of a quirky sense of humour on ‘Jar Song’, which imagines drinking sessions with a list of Irish literary figures, while ‘Apple Of My Eye’ is an enchanting tribute to New York as the safe haven to many an Irish emigrant. You could draw all kind of inferences from such a song appealing to a demographic who were becoming increasingly intolerant of other cultures, but that’s beside the point: this was an album that disarmed any cynicism and exhorted you to ‘love yourself today’. Good advice.