I Can Walk Through Transduction Records ***

In Red Harvest, Dashiell Hammett's 1929 crime thriller, Dinah Brand is a tainted femme fatale, "a deluxe hustler". There is something of the same soiled world-weariness in this Dublin band and in this, their much delayed second album (a non-strategic, non-thematic follow-up to 2003's Pale Monkey Blues). For starters, they are no longer new kids on the block, and have between the four members a shared history in bands such as Pet Lamb, Legion of Two, Stars of Heaven and The Revenants (the latter pair two of Ireland's best bands, bar none). Furthermore, there is instilled

in the music the experiences that comes with age: tragedy, slapstick, despair, joy, receding gums. The songs are shrouded in calm, guitar-led rock/pop that will be bliss to the ears of those who appreciate The Byrds, The Replacements, Big Star and Go Betweens. Music from blokes with lives to live outside music? Why, not when it’s this good? See dinahbrand.com

Download tracks: Reunion, Vampires Trapped in Time