The band's name and the title say it all: this is an intriguing and quirky psych-folk outfit with an unexpectedly tough edge. Named after a poem about a haunted canal lock, The Spook first got together in Dublin to write songs in the folk tradition, but other influences started creeping in. There are melodic echoes of Planxty or the Dubliners here, but matched against a blitz of guitar rock and feedback and a delight in the unexpected. They sing in three languages, starting in Italian with The Tarantella, which begins with an eerie wash of sound and ends up as a frantic party dance with a real sense of danger. Then there are brooding and menacing three-part harmonies on Black Diaries, edgy but acoustic Gaelic songs, and a fine mix of melody and unease in Shudder in the West. One of the Irish albums of the year.