Despite accolades from the likes of DJ John Peel, The Last Post remains one of the Dublin music scene's best-kept secrets. Not that it's a band as such - more an open-ended home studio project, overseen by singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Alan Kelly and featuring contributions from whatever musicians happen to be passing at the time. This second full-length album is the first on which Kelly has had a decent budget, and it shows in the wide-screen arrangements, swelling choruses and lush production that at times recalls the more ethereal moments of the Beach Boys. At a time when rackety, DIY lo-fi music is becoming all the rage, Kelly's lavish soundscapes provide the perfect antidote for closet romantics everywhere. His lyrical tales of lost love may have a bittersweet taste, but they're always driven by a robust sense of melody - and the presence of such big names as David Kitt strumming away in the background suggests that his cool quotient is set to rise and rise. Time, surely, to start spreading the word.