Cathy Davy's career seemed to have hit a brick wall. Despite drawing much acclaim from critics across the country, the spiky swagger of her debut, 'Something Ilk', simply didn't connect with the public and it looked as if the weight of major label pressures would crush any dreams of burgeoning stardom.

Yet here the Dubliner is - an acclaimed second album under her belt; a Meteor Award nomination; and, at the time of writing, one of the favourites to land the Choice Music Prize.

Her second album, 'Tales from Silversleeve', brings together a subtle collection of pop songs all infused with wondrous sounds stemming from a constantly experimental mind.

It is a layered record, as different to her debut as it is varied, and shows the 26-year-old to have returned stronger than ever and confident enough to delve into other genres.

The results are exciting. Produced by Liam Howe of the Sneaker Pimps, the new record is doused in potential hits from the pulsing groove of 'Moving' to the sneaky pop of 'Reuben' and the infectious 'Sing for Your Supper'.

Live too the Dubliner has raised her game, as a series of residencies around the country demonstrated last year. The shows have served to raise her profile and on 21 February, Davy plays her biggest Irish headliner to date at Dublin's Tripod.

On reflecting on the three-year gap between her debut and 'Tales from Silversleeve', Davy has concluded that she wasn't ready for any success that may have come her way.

"I didn't like anything about that time," she freely admits. "I wasn't ready for what happened around 'Something Ilk', because it more or less came from nowhere. There was nothing about the experience that was pleasurable, but in retrospect that was only because I wasn't ready for it. Now, it's become pleasurable because I had everything ready to go - songs, recordings, mindset. Thank God the buzz around 'Something Ilk' backfired, because now I get to do it the right way."

Steve Cummins

Read a webchat with Cathy here.

www.cathydavey.ie

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