Folk Roots (2000) Paul Tiernan has proved beyond doubt that he is one of Ireland's leading contemporary songwriters. Whether within a band context, as in his Flex & The Fastweather days, or as a solo artist, his use of words, imagery and language have all served him well. His two previous solo efforts outlined a talent as much at home with a hard-hitting rock band as an acoustic folk flavoured setting. Now comes album No.3, God Knows I Love A Happy Ending, named after a line in an old Flex & The Fastweather song and focusing once more on Tiernan's opaque yet confessional songwriting allied to a confident, assured delivery. This time he has deserted the big city and recorded in the comparative quiet of Boleagh in the West Cork town of Ballydehob. With Kieran Kennedy, Bronagh Gallagher and Colm McCaughey along for the ride the sound is rich as before but generally more sparse and organic. Musically the emphasis is on acoustic elements with chiming guitars, mandolas, fiddles, cellos and the odd slab of electronics. In many ways this is his most obviously roots recording yet blessed with the oblique and the unusual, in short typical Paul Tiernan. The recipe is as before for lyrical potshots fired at obtuse angles and contagious melodies. The strutting flamenco rhythms and ambient shades of What Can Never Be and the Paul Simon/Leonard Cohen strains of Signals And I Will contrast with the gurgling electronic loops of Cruel and its anthemic chorus. Today I'm Feeling Lucky hints at John Prine's sardonic humour before exploding into a Hey Jude-Iike chorus. 18 weaves spells of descriptive teenage yearnings. Tiernan's lyrical side has the word power of a Richard Thompson with telling lines and classic observations combining simplicity and wisdom. Tiernan's albums are never instantaneous affairs; rather they unveil themselves on continued exposure. God Knows I Love A Happy Ending is yet another thrilling instalment from one of Ireland's most eloquent and expressive wordsmiths, and once surrendered to, its charms are impossible to resist. John O'Regan