Following hot on the heels of Pet Rent from last April, Walk Lightly When The Jug Is Full delivers 16 tracks intended to uplift, outrage and amuse – sometimes all at once.

You can tell it was written and recorded during the pandemic, as there’s a feeling of deep unease, uncertainty and oddness afoot that might chill some listeners to the marrow. All the better if it does. On the other hand, there is a musical catchiness that might surprise those who have previously furrowed their brows.Leaving behind the ’80s punk of last year’s LP, this album is perhaps the Dundalk bard’s most hook-laden to date. There are hints of flower-power folk-pop on the likes of ‘A Trillion Ways’ and ‘The Man Who Loved Abba’, while elsewhere, Walk Lightly Whan The Jug Is Full is loaded with rallying cries for the misfits (‘The Leper’). If you fancy a walk on the weird side, check this out A.S.A.P.     EDWIN MC FEE

SIOBHAN O KANE – THE IRISH TIMES 

Jinx Lennon’s latest album surveys just as many eclectic subjects as his previous work but here takes in the beauty of the west of Ireland, incels, smoking, the press-gang era, noisy neighbours and more.

Yet this record is rooted in surprisingly soft earth for the Dundalk punk poet. It is to be found on the beautiful instrumental Atlantic Coast Woman, the delicate atmosphere of Celibate Rifle Day and the graceful piano of A Trillion Ways. Brutality is woven through tenderness in Lennon’s lyrics, whether he’s telling a story about an unfortunate encounter with a hero on Tyrants of the Open String – “I won’t bow and scrape” – or expressing his disdain for the cover version on Sing What You Know About