Twilight

When an unknown artist is compared to the likes of Tim Buckley or Nick Drake, you either have to laugh or listen. In the case of John Hegarty, I chose to listen, and while the spin doctors may have been a little too effusive, there's no doubt that he's got something. When someone of the calibre of Bob Lamb – he worked with both UB40 and The Lilac Time – takes on production duties, one has to take serious notice.

There's a literary quality to the lyrics, all of which began life as drafts of short stories, and the musical backdrop – lush strings, woodwind, and uilleann pipes – lends an expansive air to proceedings, ‘Fallen’ being a very good example of how good songs are enhanced by proper construction. In contrast, the instrumental ‘Eventide’ is driven by guitars, flutes and percussion overlain with a pastoral feel.

With Twilight John Hegarty has created an album which suggests that not only can he write well – that's not in doubt – but that there's even more engaging stuff to come. For now though, this will do fine.