This Irish born singer started out her career in Damien Rice’s band, not a bad place to start eh? In 2007 she started her solo career and has released 2 albums since, Sea Sew and Passenger. She is by no means new, only new to me.

Not surprisingly, I discovered she’s had wide ranging critical ecclaim and award nominations. She’s appeared on Jools Holland and played Glastonbury, but somehow escaped the masses. Probably because she’s not been played on radio 1, isn’t that the only way people discover new music these days?

Fun fact, the artwork for her Sea Sew was sown by her and her mother. Her earliest musical memories are of singing along to the likes of Nina Simone and Joni Mitchell in the car and I can see how they inspired her. Reminds me of my own memories though we had slightly less cool tapes in our car, Phil Collins was a favourite of my brother.

I’ve been listening to her first album sea sew, you can get it on iTunes for less than a fiver! I Don’t Know is my favourite, the lyrics remind me of that that warm butterfly feeling you get when falling in love. I smile as I remember that feeling of knowing nothing about a person but wanting to know everything. The music builds into the perfect folk pop tune.

The album is quite simply a joy. It ranges from the pop folk classics like I Don’t Know to haunting melodies in Counting Blues. I love it.