New Irish albums reviewed and rated: Van Morrison, 49th & Main, Baba, Liffey Light Orchestra, Kean Kavanagh and A Smyth

Van Morrison: Remembering Now (Virgin/Exile) ★★★★

Van Morrison’s strike rate of seven albums in the past five years has been perhaps a tad overgenerous. Inevitably, quantity rode roughshod over quality. Yet his 47th studio album is easily his best since the lyrical Avalon Sunset, from 1989. Songs such as (the self-referencing) Haven’t Lost My Sense of Wonder, Cutting Corners, Once in a Lifetime Feelings, Stomping Ground (“See where I started from”), the mantra-like title track, and the superb nine-minute closer, Stretching Out, find Morrison in reflective, beautifully autumnal mood.

49th & Main: Happy Tears (Counter/Ninja Tune) ★★★★

After four years of gigging like there’s no tomorrow, racking up more than 100 million streams, and suffering a lengthy bout of illness, the Kilkenny schoolfriends Ben O’Sullivan and Paddy King finally release their debut album. O’Sullivan’s period of convalescence has proven beneficial, as the fresher material (Rewind, Hold On, Feels Right) generates more than the usual indie-electronic sparks. Throughout, there are nods to identity (the folksiness of Ardbeg, the Irish-language manifesto of Invictus), tenderness (Glenmalure Blue) and sleek techno push and pull (Distractions, Come Home, Mr Rain).

Baba: Truth (Self-Released/Baba) ★★★

“To breathe, I had to let myself drown,” Siobhán Lynch sings on the title track of her seriously soulful debut album. She tells some deeply sad stories through the lyrics of Truth’s nine songs – but also know that life goes on despite the turmoil. Stylistically, this is depth-charged soul/pop delivered by a singer whose nuanced style references Adele and, in particular, Duffy but whose voice is very much her own.

Liffey Light Orchestra: Jigs and Other Stories (Legal) ★★★

Anyone with a hankering for 1970s prog rock should lend an ear to the latest album from Liffey Light Orchestra, Paul Egan’s infrequent ensemble group. Jigs and Other Stories nods to the intricacies of Mike Oldfield, Rick Wakeman and Focus, among others, but also waves to Pentangle (Margarita Time), Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin (Jig for Micheál) and Michael Quatro (Grande Duchesse). Noted Irish musicians (including David Agnew, Michael Buckley, Anto Drennan and Philip Begley) feature throughout, but at the centre of it all is Egan’s skill at holding it all together with musical style and wit.

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Kean Kavanagh: The County Star (Heaven-Sent) ★★★

Kean Kavanagh has undertaken a notable stylistic shift with his new album. Swerving from hip-hop beats to punchy Americana with a side order of Irish folk is something few people would have expected, but Kavanagh is smart about it. As with Kojaque, his Soft Boy Records cofounder, an identity switch drives the song narratives, with Kavanagh (who was born in Houston, Texas) adopting the character of a cowboy and filtering that through layered songs centred on his hometown of Portlaoise.

A Smyth: Hello Goliath (Lover Records) ★★★★

Life, says Aaron Smyth, is all about balance. Which is probably why it has taken him four years to follow up his sterling 2021 solo debut album, Last Animals. Hello Goliath looks into the face of what can seem insurmountable – making time for what you want to do as well as what you have to do – but manages to resolve the challenge. Smyth’s songs are a superior blend of familiar styles, taking constituent parts of psych-pop, country-rock and Americana to create memorable, textured work.