From Now On

With three albums of fine self-penned songs under her belt, South Armagh singer Briege Murphy has now turned her hand to covers. From Now On features traditional ballads like ‘The Verdant Braes of Screen’ and ‘Ten Thousand Miles’ alongside Townes Van Zandt’s ‘Pancho and Lefty’ and ‘Tecumseh Valley’, James Taylor’s ‘Sweet Baby James’ and the title track by Susannah Clarke. I can’t help feeling that at least one token original wouldn’t have gone amiss, but Murphy’s strong, mature voice certainly does a lovely job of bending itself around the selections she’s chosen. Especially powerful are ‘In The Month of January’, with a spooky dobro accompaniment that suits the song’s lonesome setting, and a magnificent accordion-backed ‘Slieve Gallion Braes’.