In'Shallah

This West Cork all-girl trio are highly-rated – and rightly so.

For starters, trading in melodic, harmony-laden, folk/pop with a definite Irish texture, Joanne Coughlan, Catherine Foley and Denise Goggin are accomplished musicians.

Consisting of 13 self-penned tracks, ranging in style from jaunty, mid-tempo pop songs, to more reflective ballads, In’shallah more than lives up to the claims being made on their behalf. This is undoubtedly due in no small part to the strength of the trio’s songwriting, which displays an impressive grasp of the fundamentals of classic pop forms and a maturity that belies their relative youth.

Treading similar ground to their debut single ‘Hush’, the opener, ‘So Far Up’, is a worthy follow-up, its soaring chorus working its way into the consciousness after just a couple of plays. But it’s track number two, the plaintive, ‘Leap of Faith’ that impresses most, immediately dispelling any notion that Switch are just another female pop combo. With vocals recalling Natalie Merchant at her most emotionally intense and a sympathetically sparse arrangement, it showcases a smouldering talent at work.

Slightly reminiscent of Sting’s ‘Field’s of Gold’, ‘Cry’ is another winner, an atmospheric song with an engaging melody. The dreamily wistful title-track starts out on a low key before building to a crescendo and should prove to be a live highlight when they take to the road this summer.

The production is crisp throughout and guest musicians include Maire Breathneach and Dick Farrelly along with a couple of international heavyweights – Steve Housden from the Little River Band Track and Robyn Robins former keyboard player with Bob Seger’s Silver Bullet Band.

Record companies – form an orderly queue!