We selected Maria Kelly as one of our ones to watch for 2018 in our series Plec Picks back in January and it's fair to say she is more than living up to the billing.

Maria's plaintive, crisp, austere songs mark her out from the throng of Irish singer songwriters.

Threads, a collaboration with fellow up-and-coming Irish songwriter Ailbhe Reddy, earlier this year, further established her credibility as an artist of note in the Irish circuit.

Maria's latest release Dark Places/ Small Talk - out now on vinyl and all major streaming services - should erase any lingering doubts about her abilities.

Dark Places is a powerful exploration of mental health, captured stunningly by the accompanying video from Roughcast Recordings which we are proud to exclusively bring to you.

"The song itself is a very literal description of what it feels like to be depressed - of distancing yourself from others, of feeling like you’re losing parts of yourself. I wanted a visual that was as equally to the point," Maria explains.

"I had this whole timeline in my head, of coming home from a night out, getting ready for bed and suddenly realising you were alone with your thoughts again.

I storyboarded the whole thing out back in March and we filmed it over two days in Berlin. The guys at Roughcast took it and ran with it without question really, and that was awesome - they were really incredible to work with and understood exactly what I was trying to get across. I hope it resonates.'

Watch Dark Places below.

For more information on Roughcast Recording check out their Instagram.