City Bound Trains, which follows on from 2013’s Trials & Cape Tribulation and is produced by Brendan Gallagher (Karma County), is a neat and strong package that showcases this growing songwriter’s talent to a tee. Paddy McHugh shoots from the hip, doesn’t pull punches.

His song writing is honest and true, tales of life in Australia told by a man who’s grown up in same, as raw and real as the country in which he took his first steps.

McHugh comes from the Paul Kelly school of song writing in that simplicity is key and everyday life makes the best stories.

“I know there are many reasons why people listen to and enjoy music… but for me, the style of music that I wanted to make, honesty was paramount,” he explains. “It had to be about something that I knew about, or cared about.”

These stories are then set to a musical score that both throbs with a visceral power, and gently pulsates with a calmness and tranquillity. From the almost anthemic nature of ‘Down To Sydney’, with its electric build, to the gentle rocking of ‘Rita’, McHugh pulls it all together with a quiet aplomb.

Honesty is at its core, everyday life its muse, Paddy McHugh the master of it all.