After stints with indie hopefuls Bawl and Fixed Stars, Dubliner Mark Cullen has returned with a new identity and, without doubt, the best set of songs he's written to date. Recorded in his childhood bedroom in Finglas, Home Truths is a compulsive trawl through the seedy side of suburbia, dredging up such unpleasant subjects as drunken husbands, abandoned children and families slowly rotting from within. The absence of a backing band does Cullen no harm at all - in fact he sounds far more musically liberated than in the past, and his clever use of electronic effects and glockenspiel often makes him sound like a more vitriolic version of the Lightning Seeds. He also shows a willingness to experiment, even using his sister-in-law's deadpan vocals to deliver a diatribe against male sexism on the chilling 'The Trouble With Men'. Like most home truths, these ones can make for uncomfortable listening - but they also confirm Cullen as a distinctive, compelling voice who deserves to be heard.

Your Comments

No comments have been posted for this article yet. Be the first!