Latest releases reviewed

KIMMIE RHODES Walls Fall Down Sunbird ***

This seasoned Austin, Texas, country/folk singer-songwriter has built up a strong base in Ireland through touring and her working friendship with Kieran Goss. Indeed, Goss and his partner Annie Kinsella are both prominent on this measured collection of originals and well-chosen covers. Rhodes, who supports Emmylou Harris in Dublin on September 12th, is happy to mix the personal and the political and she does it well. Her cover of Rodney Crowell's Sex & Gasoline and her own Your Majesty and There's a Storm Coming are both passionate and literate, while Townes Van Zandt's If I Needed You and her own Beautiful (written with Goss) convey her sensitive side. The production and the playing are both on the money, while Rhodes's singing is soft and affecting. www.kimmierhodes.com Download tracks:Sex & Gasoline, Beautiful, Your Majesty

RACHEL HARRINGTON City of Refuge Skinny Dennis Records ****

Rachel Harrington's The Bootlegger's Daughter was one of the more impressive albums of 2007 and certainly among the best debuts, City of Refuge moves the Oregonbred singer-songwriter to a new level. Using her knowledge of the colourful history of the American west, Harrington brings sundry experiences to life, from whores to housewives, all in sepia-toned grittiness via moody, languid arrangements of guitar, mandolin, banjo and fiddle. Her lonesome, distant voice is redolent of Gillian Welch in its rustic honesty. One short a capella song, The Clearcut, shivers with intrigue - and all in 54 seconds. Every one of Harrington's songs, including Carver (a pithy tribute to writer Raymond Carver), Karen Kane and Truman demand repeated listening, while the same applies to her well-chosen covers, Ode to Billie Joe and I Don't Want to Get Adjusted to This World. Sadly, a version of Old Time Religion is too tentative. www.rachelharrington.net  Download tracks:Karen Kane, Truman, The Clearcut