Scratch the skin of any Irish singer-songwriter these days and you discover a sensibility that aches with sadness just as it proffers hope. A cultural legacy, maybe – the refusal to be overwhelmed by suffering, the invocation of a blessing among the despair. You might even call it the deep soul impulse. Fionn Regan, Damien Rice and James Vincent McMorrow are some of those at the vanguard of this movement. Now add to that the name of Ciaran Lavery.

A native of Aghagallon in County Antrim, Lavery has been mapping the diverse trajectory of the human heart since his debut album, Not Nearly Dark, in 2013. He writes the kind of universal truths about love, loss and redemption that resonate with people: lots of people. After all, more than twenty two million listeners on Spotify can’t be wrong. The song ‘Shame’ has had over 14 million plays alone, while ‘Left For America’, from last year’s critically lauded EP, Kosher, is at around 6.5 million and counting.

Lavery sings from the inside out in a voice that augments the candour of his words over predominantly acoustic templates channelling the sonic spirit of America. Think Bob Dylan, Tom Waits and, however incongruous the assimilation of influences, hip hop. Small wonder that Snow Patrol’s Gary Lightbody has used superlatives such as “stunning” and “magical” to describe him.