The second album from Mullingar songwriter Boone, Escapade is already picking up airplay at home and across the water, as well as eating up space on film soundtracks. It’s a generally worthy and more than worthwhile follow-up to his debut Somewhere Beyond, which spawned the much-acclaimed ‘Is It True’. ‘Louise Don’t Tease’ is already a hit with the fans, marrying Sparks-like quirkiness with ELO-style melodies, topped by Boone’s exuberant vocals. After an attention-grabbing a capella opening, ‘She Moves’ rattles along at a thrillingly frantic pace; think Hozier on speed and you’re halfway there. ‘Stay With Me Tonight’, meanwhile, mixes Irish rhythms with middle eastern tints to intriguing effect. Elsewhere, ‘Sir N Getty’ takes us to the Serengeti with evocative children’s voices, docudrama-style narration and heavily-percussive futuristic production. The album ends with ‘Trick Of The Mind’, which opens with a more acoustic feel, but later adds a Mica-style vocal and squawling guitars. Boone is a versatile artist who pays little attention to the official songwriter’s manual, and uses only the richest of ingredients in his inventive and nourishing musical stews. Fascinating. OUT NOW