'9' by Damien Rice

It would be fair to say that Damien Rice had mixed feelings about the success of album number one. '9', the follow up, seems to be one long attempt to ensure that fame would pass him by. The opening track ('9 Crimes', also, inexplicably, the album's lead single) is a mournful piano track which doesn't even feature Rice's vocals until halfway in - it's left to long-term collaborator Lisa Hannigan to do the honours. The term 'slow burner' doesn't come close to doing it justice.

There are moments of beauty throughout '9'. Some, like 'Dogs' and 'Grey Room' are a gentle pleasure, some, notably 'Elephant' are howling wails of pain. 'Rootless Tree' is pretty much the only song that screams "single", but it's blessed with a chorus that no radio playlister could touch with a bargepole. Deviations from the acoustic-guitar-plus-a-couple-of-stringed-instruments formula have a mixed success rate. 'Animals', which builds from sparse beginnings into a grand orchestral swirl, is very good indeed. 'Me, My Yoke & I' isn't - too simple an idea for too long.

The end of the album is something of a disappointment. 'Accidental Babies' is long, but forgettable, and 'Sleep Don't Weep' is much the same. It's easy to imagine Rice deliberately finishing this way, allowing the album to limp to a close as a further way of sabotaging success.

So all in all, '9' is a mixed bag, but even when it misses the mark, Rice's genuine talent shows through. He may be miserable, but I'd choose his misery over the vast majority of other singer songwriters. Damien Rice, or James Blunt? Easy.