Between Heidi Talbot and Cathie Ryan there's been a mini invasion of these parts recently by singers aligned to Celtic Connections favourites Cherish the Ladies. Like the ultimate singers' hatchery, De Dannan, the Irish-American band offers a fine platform where the singer can focus on a handful of songs to sympathetic accompaniment in concerts of mainly instrumental music.

Cathie Ryan has considerable experience as a solo artist now. On this showing, however, the singer, who was raised in Detroit but is now based in Ireland, seems to be having trouble bringing a full repertoire of songs up to the level of those vocal spots she filled in Cherish the Ladies.

She has an undeniably attractive voice but it lacks projection and often fails to communicate. It's almost as if she's singing to - and for - herself, an impression that her habit of smiling contentedly at her own efforts only serves to underline.

This is particularly disappointing because there's talent here and in her musicians. Jura man Danny Maran contributes carefully plotted guitar accompaniments which combine with Ryan's bodhran playing to drive the music along, and Emerald Rae's fiddling, although not always perfect in its intonation, has character, invention and a touch of Cape Breton zip. But the whole show would benefit from stricter production values and less of Ryan's rather forced sincerity.

The songs vary wildly in quality, from Karine Polwart's lovely Follow the Heron to an embarrassing version of There's No Place Like Home, and the impact, be it punchline, parting glass conviviality or the dramatic tale of Grace O'Malley, Ireland's pirate queen, too often fails to materialise.