Clara Tracey - Black Forest (Vinyl)

The debut album from Fermanagh-born Clara Tracey is an invitation into a magic realist world where women reign, stained glass comes to life and fantasies are playfully erotic. Written in the shadow of a nineties Catholic upbringing and a decade spent in Paris in the posthumous company of Colette, Anaïs Nin and Angela Carter, it filters jazz cafe chanson through woozy organs, synths and piano, somewhere between Gainsbourg and Stereolab. Produced by Daniel Fox of Gilla Band and recorded at Sonic Studios in Stoneybatter, with cover art painted by Salvatore of Lucan.

Soap Girls and Jane Birkin carry the Parisian nonchalance, Harry Clarke conjures the great stained glass artist himself, and the seductive title track plays like a dark fairytale. The Irish Times praised its libertarian, feminist and theatrical slant, while RTÉ Arena named it among the finest releases of the year.