Cathy Davey - The Nameless

I had this album purchased a good while ago, but due to some iTunes mishaps I've only got around to listening to it very recently. And...wow. Another great Irish album to add to the pile that have been released this year, The Nameless is a gripping, engaging album from start to finish. There wasn't a whole lot wrong with her first two albums, Something Ilk and Tales of Silversleeve, but this album sees her step up to a whole new level. It's a cliche I'm not too fond of using, but she really has grown into her own voice : at this stage Davey has a truly inimitable, idiosyncratic aesthetic and style of delivery, and song-writing on her latest record glows with self-assurance and confidence.

Ranging from the pure pop thrills of 'Little Red' (which, despite its hook-filled immediacy, seems to sound better and better with each listen) to the dazzling baroque flourishes of 'Army of Tears' to the deceptively jaunty 'Happy Slapping' and the grandstanding sweep of 'Universe Tipping', this is the Dublin songwriter's first truly great album (again, the first two weren't far off), and one that's only going to grow in stature.

She's an interesting character too: there was a great interview with Peter Murphy in a recent issue of Hot Press where she spoke of, among other things, her excitement at the health of the current Irish music scene, the role blogs are playing in the promotion of new music, the taboos surrounding death in our culture, her pretty vehement hatred of X-Factor and all that shit, and her belief that the demo versions of her songs are often better than the mastered ones. Speaking of which, there's still some of those demos available to download from the Torture Garden blog:

http://thetorturegarden.blogspot.com/2009/04/happy-birthday-us.html

But, really, buy the album - I can't recommend it highly enough.



Army Of Tears by schlafshane

EDIT:

'Army of Tears' is the next single released from the album, and available now for download from iTunes, backed with a demo version and the b-side 'The Wandering'. Check the live video: