Hothouse Flowers - Into Your Heart (2004)

It seems like a lifetime ago that the Hothouse Flowers anthem "Don't Go" emanated from radios everywhere. A bunch of street-performers from Dublin set out to impress with their hybrid of rock'n'roll, Irish folk and gospel influences back in 1988, and it was something of a breath of fresh air.

It's been seven years since these guys last presented us with new material, so it's likely that by now longer-in-the-tooth fans have high expectations of how it will sound. Luckily, Into Your Heart is unlikely to disappoint. It sees Ireland's finest folk-rock export return in fighting form.

The recent single "Your Love Goes On" is a magnificently buoyant start. Full of enticing horns and uplifting harmonies by the Dublin Gospel Choir, it re-establishes the strong and endearing vocal presence that is Liam Ó Maonlaí. "Tell Me" is another punchy little number, with stabbing Hammond organ, a thumping drumbeat and some swirling, looped electronics. Good stuff.

The pace drops for the likes of "Peace Tonight" and "Santa Monica", and the latters jazz-tinged chorus and swampy blues harmonica combine to great effect. Amongst the ballads, it's "Feel Like Living" that shines through. It's a movingly simple ode with only pretty piano and ghostly, soaring strings for backing. Soul-searching and beautiful.

The gutsy force that drives the beginning of this collection re-emerges before the end and "Out Of Nowhere", dedicated to Liam's wife Aoife, is immediate and frisky despite it's sentimentality. Meanwhile, "Sí Do Mhamó Í" is the kind of finale any traditional Irish musician would be proud of. Sung in Gaelic and recorded live in Minneapolis, it's got tin whistles galore and some breathtaking bodhran playing - a glorious finish. Welcome back Hothouse Flowers.