Wooden Horses

They rarely come any rootsier than this, Mick Hanly with a basket of all new songs (bar one) and a bunch of skilled musicians locked in producer PJ Curtis's cottage in Clare for four days.

The result is a stunningly relaxed and refreshing work, with Hanly sounding sharper than he has for years.

The opener 'Wooden Horses' is a little reminiscent of 'I Recall A Gypsy Lover' but it sets the agenda for what's in store with some freewheeling playing from Declan Corey on mandolin, Liam Lewis on fiddle and its general downhome approach. 'You're A Big Girl Now' (not the Dylan song) is a heartaching track about a teenage daughter's first flight from the nest.

'A Wedding And A Funeral' is a social snapshot of an Ireland that, thankfully, has not yet been eaten by the Celtic Tiger, while 'Mrs O'Neill', with some stirring accordion from Josephine Marsh, looks at how we often callously use each other. It overflows with sadness and anger, perfectly expressed by Hanly positively spitting the line "I'm glad we're rid of those fuckers".

He also revisits 'Without The Fanfare', the hit he wrote for Mary Black, and invests it with some fresh emotional power.

In a musical world bloated with fake emotion contrived merely to sell records, Hanly stands apart as a man who writes real songs for grown-ups.