Some flowers take forever to burst into bloom. Others blossom straight away, but then quickly wither and die. And then of course there's the Hothouse Flowers, the hardy perennials of the Irish music scene who steadfastly refuse to follow any of nature's rules. The bohemian Dubliners never quite lived up to the 'next U2' tag they acquired in the late 80s, but here in 2004 they're ready to give it another shot, with a stripped-down line-up and a confident-sounding new album. Their raggle-taggle image now just a bad memory left, Into Your Heart is probably the most soulful record they've made to date, packed with gospel-tinged arrangements and some strikingly intimate vocal performances from Liam O'Maonlai. As usual, however, it's their banal lyrics that let them down - for some reason the Flowers have just never been able to find the right words to do justice to their musical prowess. Despite hard work all round, this is ultimately for committed fans only.

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