Fox Jaw’s upcoming release, ‘Ghost’s Parade’, points to countless Friday nights spent watching Clint Eastwood and Lee Marvin on TG4.

From beginning to end, this album brings to mind colourful imagery of bustling saloons, grizzled hard-drinking men, ageing showgirls and out-of-tune honky-tonk pianos. The Limerick group mines the sinister underbelly of the mythic Wild West for inspiration, creating a collection of songs reminiscent of Tom Waits crossed with Queens of the Stone Age.

‘Ghost’s Parade’ opens with Hijack – a swampy, blues-tinged foot-stomper swaggering with machismo. The song displays a flair for original and uncliched lyric writing, “Of the twelve notes we know/ can you build your own?/ Make it sing”, as well as the band’s keen ear for tension and drama. It’s undoubtedly a great song and sets the bar pretty high for the following tracks.

The following track and current single, Falling Debris, combines an upbeat pop sound with spooky guitar, while Siren’s Call, with its saloon style piano, twangy slide guitar and pleasant harmonies, serves as a favourable reminder of the other Southern favourites O Emperor.

Fox Jaw shines best when they stick to a grounded poppy sound with lead singer Ronan Mitchell’s growling baritone providing a satisfyingly contrasting darkness. Perhaps the best example of this is Kerosene, a song in which Mitchell alternates between gorgeous crooning and unrestrained howling against a classic pop backdrop.

In the Fold and Caked in Sin offer a disappointing break with the record’s intriguing gothic western motif, choosing instead to go into derivative Foo Fighter’s style rock territory.

With Afterglow, the group finally indulges in the epic dirge that they have been leaning towards from the very beginning. The result is an engrossing Mark Lanegan-esque performance from Mitchell. The final track, Stream of Consciousness, is a weird mix of light jazz and foul-mouthedness and ends the album on a more than bizarre note.

‘Ghost’s Parade’ is an odd amalgamation of genres. However the Limerick quintet must be commended for managing to blend together conflicting styles relatively seamlessly. The highlight of the album is undoubtedly Ronan Mitchell’s beautiful vocals which add much-needed drama to an otherwise middling record.