Sometimes

Although not quite in the same league as the Ash tune of the same name (or, for that matter, Erasure’s equally magnificent mid-’80s hit), Alphastates’ ‘Sometimes’ is still a supremely elegant electro-acoustic number that convincingly explains their esteemed status in the Dublin independent scene. Also, Catherine Dowling’s lilting vocals strongly recall Sarah Blackwood – of criminally overlooked Britpop trio Dubstar – circa ‘Stars’ (bloody hell, there wasn’t half an astrological theme to that band), which in itself is enough to elicit an enthusiastic thumbs-up from this quarter.