RedbirdRedbird & Anchor ***

From the late 1980s to the mid-1990s, Northern Irish singer Briana Corrigan was a prominent member of the chart-rattling machine that was The Beautiful South. But the appeal of bright lights and hit records was overshadowed by frustration at how little creative input she was allowed. Corrigan’s solo career proved to be of the stop-start-stutter kind, and for quite some time she has mooched around her Dublin home, dabbling in writing and acting to – as yet – no clear-cut ends. Co-produced by Dave Couse (who also writes or co-writes four songs), Redbird is pleasantly surprising in its left-of-centre approach to pop music. Corrigan could easily have revisited old ground, but instead deftly blindsides expectations and raises the ante. There’s nothing obvious here, just the kind of

alt.pop you won't hear on the radio, but absolutely should. brianacorrigan.com

Download tracks:13 Wonderful Love Songs, Fairytale