The Full Circle LPR Records ***

The curse of the over-hyped debut might haunt Luán Parle, who bagged a 2007 Meteor Award for Best Irish Female for Free. Three years on, she's dusted herself off after the usual big-label kerfuffle. Cutting a vocal line straight between Stevie Nicks and Wynonna Judd, Parle airs a dozen self-composed songs, many of them co-written with her accompanist, guitarist Gavin Ralston, and one with Bill Bottrell (a veteran of Madonna and Sheryl Crow). She's most comfortable in new country mode, but that voice seems to find its true centre on the bluesier Ain't No Temptin' Me.Trouble is, there's an implacable sense of deja vu about The Full Circle. All the stock ingredients are there to bag an essentially MOR audience. Hammond? Check. Smokehouse vocals? Check. It's hardly the road least travelled, but Parle seems hellbent on making it her own – this time round. See luanparle.com

Download tracks: Shake, Ain't No Temptin' Me