USA TODAY
Tuesday, January 5, 1999

by Edna Gunderson

Sinéad Lohan, No Mermaid (three stars)
A soothing, liquid voice and beautifully crafted songs push the Irish songbird's sophomore effort atop the list of the best albums you never heard this year. It brims with melodic, unself-conscious folk-pop forged from seemingly incongruous strengths: Lohan's acoustic, Celtic-tinged earthiness and producer Malcolm Burn's stately layered orchestration. No Mermaid's dozen songs, from the crackling Whatever It Takes to gorgeous Out Of The Woods, conjure an emotionally charged atmosphere in hypnotic soundscapes. The album is an artistic triumph and a technical marvel, placing Lohan among the '90s' most imaginative female singer/songwriters.