Jackie Leven: “The Right To Remain Silent” (Cooking Vinyl)

Jimmy Mac Carthy: “Lorraine” (Sony Music)

Two master songwriters display their respective talents. Jimmy Mac Carthy constructs a vivid image of ‘Lorraine’ and yearns for her company. Yet while the song is well constructed, it suffers from the fact that it has all been done before: ballads bemoaning the absence of a fair maiden are three a penny and this fails to deviate significantly from the standard. Jackie Leven meantime manages to rise above the usual fare by superbly blending modern and ancient sounds on songs that are intelligent and fluent.