Two years on from releasing a brace of albums, border town bard Jinx Lennon is back with Grow A Pair!!!, a record that firmly re-asserts the industrious Dundalk man as one of Ireland’s most vitally truculent voices. Skilfully treading the tightrope between misty eyed romance and hard hitting realism, Lennon’s latest sonic manifesto is a timely primal scream against the machine.

Littered with sharp lyrics about “McGregor beards”, “Newry birds” and the maddening uncertainty of modern life, the 18-track opus is a feast for fans of the iconoclast. The singer has described the music on Grow A Pair!!! as “border cosmic schizo folk”. In layman’s terms, though, this is the acoustic album he’s been threatening to make for years.

Primal, prickly and powerful, Lennon flirts with cowpunk (‘Stop Yer Bummin’’), dub (‘Top Of The Bleeding Morning’) and Irish trad/folk (‘Guns Of Dowdallshill’) to spice up his sermons. However, ‘The Newry Bird’ is a huge standout, and the hushed folk song – a warning about crossing the wrong woman – is hilarious, harrowing and hugely catchy all at the same time.

Record label: Septic Tiger
Listen to: 'The Newry Bird'
Rating: 8/10