Kate O'Callaghan
Album: The Still Beyond
Label: Self Released
Tracks: 12
Website: http://www.kateocallaghan.com

Though a new name to many I suspect, Dublin-born Kate is a distinctive songwriting talent who draws unexpectedly heavily on Americana as well as folk for her inspiration. She's now based in Donegal, having moved just a few years ago to the rural Inishowen Peninsula, where she recorded her debut EP, To You (2010). However, even though Kate has since collaborated with many artists including fellow-singer/songwriter Jennifer Kimball and The Henry Girls, and supported Birds Of Chicago on their recent tour, she's remained under the radar to the extent that The Still Beyond will be the first occasion that most of us will have heard of her.

Kate possesses one of those voices that's evocative, but in a subliminal and quite understated way that doesn't wear its heart on the sleeve. This technique is much in keeping with Kate's lyrics, which make a virtue of economy and can be deceptively straightforward (as on the on charming pop-inflected Don't Think So and the jazzy organ-flecked Feel) or enigmatically visionary in their poetry (as on Painted Lady). This dichotomy at times works against a ready appraisal of her writing, however, and it's not always easy to assess her songs' impact on a few preliminary playthroughs. The musical arrangements embrace a small group setting for the most part, with telling use of key instrumental colours like resonator guitar (My Dear), ukulele (Don't Think So) or organ (Jackal). Musicians involved include producer Ted Ponsonby, Hue Jhorgen, Seamus Devenny and Eddie Lee.

My favourite tracks are those which encompass a gentle lilting mood (notably the exquisite Coldness At Dawn, where the expressive shadings of Kate's singing really come into their own, the skewed country-waltzer Reverie Of A Radiant Knight and the poignant Left In Disbelief), or tender emotional honesty (Undone) or sanguine perception (Beholder). The sometimes shifting tonalities of Kate's songs can lend them an elusive tenor, but it's worth persevering and the final impression is of an uplifting personal vision that's compellingly conjured by a delicate musical landscape.

David Kidman