El Diablo - The Crooked Straight

Catchy Go Go Records - 2003 - 34 minutes

Alt-country crooners, El Diablo arrived on the Dublin scene with '23rd Psalm Café' - an album, and band, hailed as a bright hope in the future of Irish music.

Two years on and the follow up album is largely a disappointment with a hit-and-miss quality that belies their potential. While the lyrics pertain to lethargy and world-weariness, too often the songs descend into mockery with a lingering suspicion that the sentiments are less heartfelt then drawled over for a more financial gain.

There are echoes of country maestros such as the late great Johnny Cash and Gram Parsons but with so many rockers jumping on the alt-country bandwagon, it's a pale reflection.

Sounding more Meg White than Nancy Sinatra, Anna Carey is the shining star here. With a voice saturated in what sounds like care-worn boozy blues, the duet 'Skin and Bone' and the satire of 'Boyfriend' are high points in an otherwise bland offering.

Elizabeth O'Neill

Tracklisting: Skin and Bone - I'm Not Any Good - Boyfriend - I Still Love You, You Know - Take Me Down - Too Tired To By Lonesome - The Reckoning - Mud - Led Astray - Country Ghost