ALBUM REVIEW: Talk of This Town, Catherine McGrath, Warner Bros Records, Out Now - Superlative musicianship outweighs dominant love theme

The pop-country music scene has been electrified by Americans Carrie Underwood, Kacey Musgraves, Shania Twain and Faith Hill.

Add to that list Northern Ireland singing prospect Catherine McGrath whose debut album, Talk of the Town, has been championed by radio DJs Scott Mills and Bob Harris.

The first thing that stands out about the album is Catherine's hand as a lyricist in all of the songs.

Right from the opening sound of the album's title track, the 21-year-old singer nails her colours to the mast with 13 songs about love and relationships.

The recurring theme might become tiresome for some listeners, except for the second notable quality of the album.

Catherine, along with Tyneside record producer Steve Robson, have assembled a wonderful cast of musicians who have elevated Talk of the Town well above the teenage romance songs that once dominated the UK charts.

Because of this, the more high-tempo songs on the album, including Lost in the Middle, Thought It Was Gonna Be Me, Good at Love and Just in Case, take Catherine to a stage where a lot more will be heard from her in years to come.

Make no mistake, Talk of This Town is an album that Lincolnshire-based singers Meg McPartlin, Phoebe Opehelia, Chloey Rose and Lucinda Flynn, all performers well-known to South Holland audiences, should aspire to.

Review by Winston Brown