AOIFE O’DONOVAN
Age Of Apathy YEP ROC
A slightly over-polished diamond
6/10
JEREMY CAMPELL, CAL&ALY
O’Donovan first attracted notice as singer with Crooked Still, where her pristine vocals served as a crystalline counterpoint to the group’s earthy bluegrass. Her solo works have generally furnished her extraordinary voice with more obviously congruent vehicles, and Age Of Apathy is no exception. These songs are sumptuous confections, sombre and reflective – “Galahad” evokes later Emmylou Harris or the literary fretting of Paul Simon. Nevertheless, the best tracks here – “Elevators”, “Prodigal Daughter”, both featuring harmonies by Allison Russell – are those which offer her an amount of folky grit to chew on.