Nick Kelly isn't exactly the most prolific songwriter in Dublin - it's been seven years since the former Fat Lady Sings frontman last put out an album. So what's he been doing all that time? Listening to a lot of David Gray and Damien Rice records, by the sound of it, since Running Dog follows the same ultra-sensitive template that's proved so lucrative for those particular gentlemen. Nothing wrong with that, of course, if it's done well - and thankfully, Kelly's heartfelt, gently rolling compositions have a knack of crawling under your skin and remaining there for the rest of the week (in the nicest possible way). It's far from groundbreaking but if you only buy one earnest Irish singer-songwriter album this year, then this is probably the one to go for.
