Damien Dempsey + Nicole Maguire

Native Irishman and former boxer Damien Dempsey blends folk and acoustic pop with heartfelt (and heavily accented) political lyrics on his most recent, Almighty Love, which features backing vocals from Sinéad O'Connor. The combination of Dempsey's sometimes brusque phrasing with soaring melodies and sentiments is potent and strangely uplifting—likely to appeal to fans of Billy Bragg.