Forget the clichéd "difficult second album" syndrome: it took Giuliano Nistri 10 years to write and three years to produce his first one. Despite its long gestation, All the Songs in One Night is a cohesive collection of folk songs that doffs its cap to musicians John Martyn, Nick Drake and Richard Thompson. The Dublin-
based Italian songwriter recorded these 10 tracks acoustically, which lends All That Ever Happens and Easily a rough-
hewn warmth. True, certain songs (I Never Meant, sole piano ballad Said the Sun to the Night) are prolonged a little too cumbersomely, and the occasional ungainly lyrical couplet catches the ear more than once. And even though Nistri's formula of guitar, double bass and understated percussion is somewhat one-dimensional, there's no denying the likability of these songs. giuliano.ie
Download: Easily, Scribbles (Lullaby)