Latest CD releases reviewed

PAULINE SCANLON
Hush Compass Records ***

Buoyed by the success of her debut, Red Colour Sun, Pauline Scanlon ups the ante with this second collection. With Donogh Hennessy's filigree guitar accompaniment, Darrell Scott's banjo and double-bassist Danny Thompson sweeping in from the edges, Scanlon basks amid pin-prick arrangements and a gorgeously tailored production that befits her growing confidence as a singer. And yet, her song choices are disappointing - instead of pushing the envelope, she leans on material she's already covered (Boys of Barr Na Sráide) or on songs jaded by repetition (The Flower of Magherally O). Vocally restrained, she rarely lets truly rip, though when she does, on Wearin' the Britches, that voice displays chinks and folds that have few peers. A safe step forward with only occasional glimpses of the bold leaps of which she is capable. www.paulinescanlon.com  Siobhán Long