Lisa Cuthbert

Lisa Cuthbert says that Paramour is darker and more dramatic than anything she has ever recorded - and given the concept behind it, that is not surprising. The album is inspired (if that is the right word) by the stories of survivors of Magdalene asylums (or Magdalene laundries as they were known in Ireland) - where women were outcast and branded unfit for society. The horrific treatment these women got for simply not fitting within the small boundaries of Catholic society is frightening - even more so when you consider the last such institution in Ireland didn't close until 1996.

With that background, Paramour was bound to be dark and dramatic - as Cuthbert puts it - but more than that, the album is almost draining. The intensity is extraordinary. So much so that by the ten minute The Balancing Act, which begins the album's final section - you are exhausted. Cuthbert has a voice very similar to Julianne Regan from All About Eve, that really suits haunting moods and edgier almost goth-rock - and her voice captures the tone needed perfectly.

The album opens with the sparing tones of Destitute, with gentle piano and subtle effects building towards her vocal - talking of "walls closing in". After four minutes though it explodes - with an expected venom. It is a remarkable and powerful opening. Coils of Blue follows with sublime violin and piano, followed by the deliberately cherubic Gartan Mother's Lullaby (complete with the sound of children playing and thunder storms), build on that impressive beginning.

But the impact of that opening sequence is difficult to match - and although the intensity continues through the likes of Libra and Madame's Secret Pain, the listener is left feeling almost overwhelmed. The subject matter does not lend itself to light - but a little more of the opening's accessibility would have helped.

In film terms, Paramour is more of an equivalent to Peter Mullan's hard-hitting The Magdalene Sisters than the lighter Philomena currently in cinemas and starring Judi Dench. It could easily be a soundtrack to the former - and it would perhaps benefit from visual accompaniment. A tough listen but a rewarding one on many levels. Cuthbert deserves praise for an ambitious project.