Think back to the mid-80s, Britain were slowly stepping out of the artificial shadows of electro-pop and beginning to embrace acoustic guitars and singer songwriter qualities again. Granted, The Citadels are from Ireland yet they come across as a return to those so-called old fashioned times of finely crafted tunes via folk-tinged pop. 'Letting Go Hold On' is halfway between the over-earnest qualities of Deacon Blue and the aching melodicism of Prefab Sprout. The standout track 'December In Monaco' sounds just like a cut from the latter's 'Swoon' album and thanks to Aoife Regan's backing harmonies the band even have their own Wendy Smith. Despite a rather basic production, the album is well written throughout; vocalist and guitarist Cormac O'Caoimh's quest for tunefulness throws up a number of fine songs. An album out of time but - in this case - it's a cause for celebration.