Cathy Davey - Tales of Silversleeve (EMI)
3/5
By: Michael Cragg
Cathy Davey is a household name in her native Ireland, having won Best Female at the Meteors (the Irish Brits) and also been nominated for The Choice Award, the Irish equivalent of the Mercury prize, for this her second album.
Yet so far, British success has eluded her, which is not only a shame but also something of a head-scratcher seeing as her catchy, melodic, mainly acoustic songs easily outshine those of the mega-selling Dido or KT Tunstall.
Opener 'Sing For Your Supper', produced by Stephen Street, sets the tone for a collection of songs that focus on the dual themes of lost love and mild self-loathing, whilst Davey's beautiful Irish accent wraps itself around a torrent of syllables. Other highlights include the single 'Reuben', which seems to be about a wolf but could just be an excuse to try her hand at some melodic howling. When the pace settles as on the knowingly titled 'Overblown Love Song', Davey comes into her own, her voice cloaking a sombre fairground melody.
Tales of Silversleeve is a fine collection of songs that deserves to be heard by a wider audience. Unfortunately, you just can't shake the feeling that in a musical landscape already cluttered with female singer songwriters, Davey may well fall through the cracks in favour of Amy bloody McDonald. Ah well, it's their loss.
Artists in this article: Cathy Davey
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