This week's rock and pop CDs reviewed

MUNDY
Strawberry Blood

Camcor Recordings★★★
Interesting point about Mundy: he's a male Irish singer-songwriter who is resolutely middle of the road (no David Kitt electronica glitches here) yet seems to have cannily avoided the routes taken by other Irish MOR types such as Paddy Casey (utterly bland) and Damien Dempsey (guttural bland). Mundy continues that canny streak with Strawberry Blood, his first album of new material since 2004's Raining Down Arrows. To say it seeps pop nous and melody is an understatement; many songs bear the hallmarks of festival highlights. The lyrics are about things, too (ambition, roots, heartache, altered emotional states) not just throwaway lines scribbled down to fill in the spaces. Guests include Shane MacGowan, Fergus O'Farrell and Gemma Hayes, but it's Mundy's record throughout: middle of the road, yes, but with an eye on what might be lying in the gutter.
www.mundy.ie TONY CLAYTON-LEA
Download tracks: I Miss the Country, The Corn & the Orange Sun, Head over Heels

THE VIRGINS
The Virgins Atlantic★★★

The death knell may be sounding in many quarters for the album as a format, yet it remains an ideal test of a band's creative ability. After all, if you can't get a few killer songs together for an album, you're not going to have much luck slogging that set around on tour. Coming in at around 34 minutes, the wham- bam debut album from New York hipsters The Virgins hits enough buttons to grant them access to the next level. The band specialise in louche and savvy indie-pop which is predicated on reworking some familiar touchstones – The Strokes, for instance, should be happy to hear that someone misses them this much. There are two fantastic tunes on this album and, although it would be more convincing if there was more than just Teen Loversand Rich Girls, these should be enough for the band to get by until the next album is due. www.thevirgins.net JIM CARROLL

Download tracks: Rich Girls, Teen Lovers

ELVIS PERKINS IN DEARLAND
Elvis Perkins in Dearland
XL Recordings★★★★

If anyone has earned the right to the title of "tortured artist", it's Elvis Perkins. As the son of late actor Anthony "Norman Bates" Perkins and photographer/actress Berry Berenson (who died on board one of the 9/11 planes), the songwriter is not short of anguished lyrical inspiration. Still, if his 2007 debut, Ash Wednesday, expressed a subtle despondency, it's all but eradicated here. The endearingly geeky Perkins has taken on a three-piece band to embellish his quirky folk-pop songs, and it pays off. I'll Be Arriving blusters, clanks and clatters like an eerie funfair jaunt, Shampoo's harmonica and guitar arrangement is an exercise in nifty sophistication, while Doomsday's brass section adds a welcome sense of frivolity. An album to quietly sweep you off your feet. www.elvisperkins.net LAUREN MURPHY

Download tracks: Shampoo, Doomsday


MYP ET JEEP
Blood Is Not Enough
Reekus Records★★★

If anyone has earned the right to the title of "tortured artist", it's Elvis Perkins. As the son of late actor Anthony "Norman Bates" Perkins and photographer/actress Berry Berenson (who died on board one of the 9/11 planes), the songwriter is not short of anguished lyrical inspiration. Still, if his 2007 debut, Ash Wednesday, expressed a subtle despondency, it's all but eradicated here. The endearingly geeky Perkins has taken on a three-piece band to embellish his quirky folk-pop songs, and it pays off. I'll Be Arriving blusters, clanks and clatters like an eerie funfair jaunt, Shampoo's harmonica and guitar arrangement is an exercise in nifty sophistication, while Doomsday's brass section adds a welcome sense of frivolity. An album to quietly sweep you off your feet. www.elvisperkins.net SIOBHÁN LONG

Download tracks:Shampoo, Doomsday


DARK ROOM NOTES
We Love You Dark Matter
Gonzo
★★★

Galway lads Ronnie Gaughan and Rurai Ferrie formed their first band after hearing Nirvana and Smashing Pumpkins; when they hooked up with Dublin girl Arran Murphy and Inchicore man Darragh Shanahan, however, their grunge roots were overlaid by a disctinctly electro-rock sound. On this debut album, DRN take their electro obsessions one step further, borrowing vintage analogue synths from top producers Flood and Rob Kirwan, and fusing them with Pixies-style basslines, Auteurs- meets-The-Four-Of-Us vocals and just a sprinkle of Goth glitter. Each and Every One of Us, The Same City Awaits Me, Shake Shake My Ceilingand Let's Light Firesshow they're not just twiddling around, but really know how to use those synths.

A few higher-calibre songs and they could be serious contenders. www.myspace.com/darkroomnotesireland KEVIN COURTNEY

Download tracks: Each and Every One of Us, Love Like Nicotine, Shake Shake My Ceiling

WINTERSLEEP
Welcome to the Night Sky
147 Records★★★

Once upon a time, Canadian indie bands were ten-a-penny. These days, it seems that New York has regained its throne as the primary hotbed of exciting experimental acts, but that fact won't bother Nova Scotia's Wintersleep. Judging by their third album, the quintet are more interested in emulating their heroes than inventing a new genre. If that sounds assumptive, it's not; there are some genuinely gorgeous tunes here. Some doff their cap to late 1980s jangle-rock ( Dead Letter & the Infinite Yes), others focus on atmosphere, tension and brooding post-rock of the finest calibre ( Miasmal Smoke), while others still are based on angular, new wave guitar rollicks (the excellent Archaeologists). Wintersleep offer absolutely nothing new, but it's a quite enjoyable offer nonetheless. www.wintersleep.com LAUREN MURPHY

Download tracks: Archaeologists, Oblivion

EDDI READER
Love Is The Way
Rough Trade
★★★★

With all the hype about the new wave of British female singers, best not to forget the true great that is Eddi Reader. She's had a lower profile since Fairground Attraction disbanded all those years ago, but her ability with a song is still as strong as ever. Recorded for (I'd say) next to nothing, this new collection has charms aplenty. She is particularly impressive on the songs written by Boo Hewerdine (formerly of The Bible) here – the gently waltz-like Dandelionis a real standout. Elsewhere, she uncovers a rare Brian Wilson song, Sweet Mountain Of Love, and gives it a poignant interpretation. An interesting take on Lindsey Buckingham's Never Going Back Againjollies things along, and listen out for her cover of Declan O'Rourke's Love Is the Way. She now owns the song. BRIAN BOYD

Download tracks: Love Is The Way, Dandelion