Galway folkie Dave Clancy released his first album back in 2020, The Path, and while it may have taken five years for the follow-up, it’s worth the wait.

Clancy’s intimate, almost confessional songs suggest that all has not gone swimmingly in his affairs of the heart; his lovelorn turmoil, however, has delivered a rich creative seam, which the singer mines to telling effect.

The folk-inflected ‘Hear Your Name’ is a heart-aching paean to unrequited love, while he taps a similar vein on the aching ‘When We Say Goodbye’. The finger-plucked guitar of the Nick Drake-style ‘Keep The Dark At Bay’, meanwhile, warns the listener, “When love comes to find you, don’t let it slip away”.

‘The Faltering Flame’ is a gentle and catchy call for peace in our time, while the title-track is a mid-paced prayer for personal empowerment. Elsewhere, the gently brushed drums, simple bass and strummed guitars make for extremely laid-back arrangements, while the stunning fiddle interludes lift tracks like the lovely ‘What Is Love Meant To Be?’ into another realm.

The songs are delivered in Clancy’s emotive tones, singing in his native Galway accent, and – his higher register notwithstanding – aren’t a million miles away from a young Luka Bloom at his most tender.

Impressive.

• Out Now.