Delancey St Impress Records***

For someone who has recorded and released nine albums, New York singer-songwriter (and sometime Dublin resident) Rachael Sage has kept a low profile this side of the Atlantic. Factor in running her own record label, producing her own records and designing her own clothes, and you’ve got someone who can’t be accused of being an underachiever. There are, perhaps, too many hints of Tori Amos and Aimee Mann here and there. But there are also gently surprising, singular touches that come across as effortless and as instinctive as most of Sage’s songwriting. These songs make sure that this album won’t be her last, and might just be the one to broaden her international appeal. Check Sage out live on September 6th, in Dublin’s new Mercantile venue. See rachaelsage.com

Download tracks: Everything Was Red, How I Got By