Heartland - Songs For Croi

Eleven notable homegrown acts contribute tracks with ‘heart’ in their titles to aid Croi, the West of Ireland Heart Surgery Centre. The project has been curated by Nick Kelly, whose ‘Walking Back To My Heart’ supplies the album with one of its most inventive moments. Arkitekt push all the right electro-pop buttons with ‘Hannah Heart’, while The Aftermath bring a touch of Roxy to ‘Six Days To Saturday’ (while clearly not reading the ‘songs with heart in the title’ rule). The Saw Doctors are suitably exuberant with ‘Broke My Heart’, while Gemma Hayes will break more hearts with her beautiful ‘Head And Heart’. The Screaming Orphans jolly up ‘I Love Sunny Days’ (more cheating!) and there’s much diddly-idleness from Davy Spillane and Cora Smyth. Compilations for worthwhile causes often lose points when judged on musical interest. Not this one.