New albums from Cian Nugent and Beach House: Languid and laidback music that celebrates the nuances of life

Kismet, then, for Dublin’s Cian Nugent, who returns after a seven-year hiatus with a bewitching fourth album. She Brings Me Back to the Land of the Living comes straight from the heart. The title comes from words his mother, Kathy, has often said since she suffered a debilitating stroke in 2019. The album artwork is hers too — a painting done in hospital during the early stages of rehabilitation.

Having returned home to the Dublin-Wicklow border to be her sole carer, it’s little surprise that familial love, parent-child bonds and childhood memories seep their way into the songs. It’s certainly the case on the woozy, languid Dogs in the Morning as he sings about “finding a photograph of you in your youth”. Like many of the tracks, an evocative portrait is created from snapshots, snatched words, little asides.

One might have thought the songs would be downbeat, but in their own quietly determined fashion they celebrate life, its myriad challenges and the self-development that comes when we find ourselves in unexpected situations.

The British music monthly Uncut, in a lengthy interview with Nugent in the current issue, calls the album “drowsy” and it’s a perfect description for songs that are somnambulant and soothing. There’s an unhurried feel to most of the eight tracks, several of them weighing in around the six- and seven-minute mark — and that laidback, restful feel does not just come from Nugent’s gentle vocal delivery, but in the way the layers of music cushion the words.

Having made his name as a guitarist of supreme gifts, he puts all manner of six-stringed instruments at this album’s core. But the guitars are part of a wider whole and arrangements that have been carefully and beautifully executed.

One of Nugent’s collaborators, Chris Forsyth, captures his approach in the Uncut feature. “His isn’t ‘guitar music’ in the sense that his guitar is way out in front of everything,” he says. “His compositions are complete and his arrangements always reflect the nuances of the tunes.” Exactly so. And that’s especially the case on the album’s most upbeat track, High Up Airplane, and its lovely jumble of drums and electric guitars. Nugent’s confidence in is own work is evident in the lengthy, wordless coda. Never once does it feel self-indulgent.

Another gorgeous track,Siamese Sharks, is built on slow, purposeful guitar as he sings “she brings me back to the land of the free” while I’ve Been Down has sprightly, playful arrangements that suit lyrics about new responsibilities. “Kicking cans and chasing stones/ Looking for something to do/ Left with no option but/ Devote myself to you.”

We’re just over four months into the year, but it will take a very special album from a homegrown musician to trump this one.

Beach House enthralled with last year’s Once Twice Melody double album and a new EP, Become, features five songs from those sessions that, according to the duo, didn’t fit in the world of that album. Originally released for Record Store Day, the songs are spacious, sumptuous and dreamy.

The marvellous Devil’s Pool is one of the most captivating songs they’ve ever released: Victoria Legrand’s vocals both haunt and shimmer while strings add lushness and drama. It’s not a signpost to where the band is going, but a look back to a period of remarkable creativity.