Einniú

INTERESTING DEBUT this, from this Dublin/Connemara based five-piece who despite their moniker, perform what are essentially American country-rock tunes with mainly Irish language lyrics.

I must confess to a slight problem with this as I just can't quite get to grips with a line that runs: "O Montreal go dti Seattle/O New Orleans go San Antone" - that said, the approach might be novel enough to find the band an audience in certain quarters.

There's a sort of a laid-back, Fleetwood Mac, mid-seventies feel to most of Einniú and songs like 'Conamara' and 'Cosúil Leat Fein' are good examples of the band's West Coast pop sensibility.

'Bhfuil Tu Uaigneach' and 'Is Mise' update the sound with jangly guitar textures and on 'Pé Áit' the band's lone female voice takes the lead vocals. Four of the band members sing, taking lead vocals in turns, and the ubiquitous Donal Lunny helps out, contributing bouzouki to some of the songs.

The tunes are for the most part pleasant and the harmonies work well - the only negative aspect being the "demo" quality of the recording. Given a decent budget and more adventurous arrangements, this band could probably come up with something really worthwhile.

But for openers, this is well worth a listen.

• Colm O'Hare