Mermaid Records was started by Maria in 2001. Initially set up to release Charm, we have now released Four albums and Four singles!

MÜTTER (Released May 18th 2007)

Hot Press- Fuckability - Single of the fortnight

Always one of our more sensual performers, Maria Doyle Kennedy is one of the finest voices this country has ever produced and one that is obviously not averse to taking more chances than most of her contempories. Best thing she’s ever done by a mile.

Hot Press - Album review 9/10

Mütter is full of meticulous attention to sonic detail. Helmed by husband Kieran Kennedy, the production is astounding -referencing everybody from Sigur Ros to Sandy Denny and the Cocteau Twins. …………It’s also an album that is unafraid to explore the darker side of life, from the very first line of Unbelievable onwards. Six long years to wait but worth every minute.

Irish Examiner -

Headphones should come free with Maria Doyle Kennedy’s brilliant album Mütter, a dreamlike ode to solitude. Mütter is 46 minutes of unrelenting minor keys with barely a major chord in view. This album sounds brilliant. The guitar riffs are out of this world. Mütter will scratch past the flesh and touch the heart of anyone fostering even an ounce of rebellion in their souls.

Irish Times - ****

Maria Doyle Kennedy’s back with a humdinger of a solo album, reeking tales of ordinary madness against a soundtrack of blood and guts, hearts and bones………………….MDK yet again proves that she’s the elastagirl of rock music: agile enough to turn obstacles into bridges, both musically and emotionally.

RTE Guide - *****

Maria Doyle Kennedy has always maintained a quiet dignity about her craft and craft is the word that best describes the finely- wrought songs on Mutter. Here she sounds equal parts anguished and unfettered and is possessed of a wraith- like vocal quality. Mütter is a crisp and cogent offering.

Galway City Tribune - 8/10

Mütter is released on Maria Doyle Kennedy’s own Mermaid Records Label. Kennedy constantly challenges herself and the listener throughout this album……………………it is an album that lingers, a bold experimental record that never gets too self-indulgent. A front runner for Irish album of the year.

Evening Echo - *****

This is a sophisticated dreamy, tripped out record that combines haunting vocals and harmonies with clever yet unpretentious lyrics………….produced by accomplished Cork musician and producer Kieran Kennedy, the combination of Maria and the Cork maestro has yielded a record that is hard to ignore.

Clare people - 9/10

Maria Doyle Kennedy’s latest offering, Mütter, is a smoulderingly hot mood trip through a melange of weird darkness and momentous light. Doyle kennedy cracks that female nut of sounding both smart and sexy, dangerous and compassionate.

In Dublin -

A potent mixture of sexy, subtle strings,electronics,guitar and percussion, laced with Maria’s often plaintive, always observationally sharp lyrics.

Click Here to see Sleeve drawings by Maria

Tracklist

1. Unbelievable
2. Mother
3. Fuckability
4. Ghost Guitar
5. Skin
6. Call Me
7. Here You Come
8. Seven More Times
9. Pattern
10. Forty Days
11. Stuck
12. Opera
13. Swoon

Produced by Kieran Kennedy.

CHARM

Basel Zeitung.

Maria Doyle Kennedy is a powerful mixture between a folk siren and a punk-diva. She is one of the great voices of Ireland. The Celtic Patti Smith.

Irish Times.*****

Charm, her solo debut, released on her own label, is a full-blooded, three-dimensional snapshot of a musician and singer most definitely in her prime." "Charm is evidence of a musician most definitely hitting top Gear“.

The Review Sligo Ireland.

Maria Doyle Kennedys voice is her only instrument, but capable of rough cracked punch and soothing lullaby moments, it is a wondrous voicen to behold.

Hot Press.

With a large cast of players, the sound is full and lush and Maria's voice is still a wondrous thing to behold, full of character and, yes, charm.

Evening Herald.

This is an assured statement and a sonic treat. The songs are quirky honest expressions of personal and domestic concerns which are enhanced by Maria's breathy intimacy which is allowed plenty of scope in Kieran Kennedy's inspired production, full but never cluttered. It's sassy, caring and protective, all at once. Way to go.

Sunday Tribune.

12 expressive, inventive songs, the album has the feel of something thatwas a joy to make, and that warmth leaps out into the room. It's an album you smile to, a rare gift.

Tracklist

1. Without U
2. Babes
3. Snow White
4. Stars Above
5. I Scare Myself
6. Safe From Harm
7. Helena
8. Magpie
9. Loving U Is Killing Me
10. Bittersweet
11. Revenge Is Sour
12. Stars Above (Acoustic)

Produced by Kieran Kennedy.

SIRENS

Independent.

And so Sirens was born, a far cry from the slush that often features inwomen-only compilations. This is one that clearly comes from the heartrather from the head.

U Magazine. ****

This is undoubtedly one of the best thought-out compilation to have hit U- central in ages. Compiled with intelligence wit, humour andauthority it should be used as a yardstick by which all subsequent compilations are made.

Sunday Tribune. ****

Anything which features not just one but all three of my greatestmusical heroines is more than fine by me. The whole thing feels like Maria Doyle Kennedy made a great compilation and thank goodness she did.

The Irish Times. ****

If you want every nerve end to tingle, every pore on your epidermis to open, every corner of your imagination to be tweaked and stretched then Sirens is your only woman. This is a gorgeous rhinestone of an album. Miss it and be miserable.

Tracklist

1. Joyful Girl - Ani DiFranco
2. She Cried Your Name - Beth Orton
3. Happiness - Lisa Germano
4. Tear In My Side - Gemma Hayes
5. Lonely Girls - Lucinda Williams
6. I'm Awake - Maria McKee
7. Sheela Na Gig - PJ Harvey
8. Last Song Of The 20th Century - Nina Hynes
9. Woman - Neneh Cherry
10. Hestia - Katell Keineg
11. You Get To Me - Amy Rigby
12. Beestung - Kristin Hersh
13. Stars Above (Acoustic) - Maria Doyle Kennedy
14. Revenge - Patti Smith
15. Moonbeam Monkey - Tanya Donelly
16. Something Real - Margaret Healy
17. The Healing Room - Sinead O' Connor
18. Murder In Maryland Park - Stina Nordenstam

SKULLCOVER

Hot Press- (Feb 13 2008)

It takes an artist of supreme confidence to record an entire album of cover versions. Maria Doyle Kennedy has courage in spades then judging by the 14 tracks on offer here. Piano and guitar are supplemented only by mellow spurts of cello and violin, which when applied to the cure’s “Lovesong” or Thin Lizzy’s “Still in love with you” are a revelation. So too is that trademark sultry sensual thrum of hers. Skullcover is a subtly seductive record.

Siobhan Long, Irish Times.**** (Feb 8 2008)

If the result of road weariness is a thing of beauty such as Skullcover, then maybe we should all hit the road. Maria Doyle Kennedy’s distinctive voice has evolved further into its own delicious space. This covers CD recorded in 2004 for a limited edition website release justly makes its debut on the back of her 2007 collection, Mütter. Swinging from a gorgeously creaky version of the Buggles “Video Killed the Radio Star” to a truly apocalyptic take on “Red Sails in the Sunset” and a beautifully pastoral “Death of Queen Jane” (borrowed from the Bothy Band), Doyle Kennedy reinvents each and every song with an enviably jaded brio. Meteor awards may come and go, but MDK is still one hell of a musical force to be reckoned with.

Gay Community News (march 1 2008).

Maria Doyle Kennedy,s covers album is as eclectic as you might expect from an artist who constantly refuses to step into the middle of the road. Her trademark sleepy vocals wind themselves around a collection of songs, some well known some obscure. Her version of the Buggles “Video Killed the Radio Star” turns a pop- stomper into a heartbreaking melody while the torchy qualities of Perry como,s “And I Love You so” are invested with some real class amid some beautifully baroque orchestration.It,s a good example of what the singer does best. She has the ability to own a song but that ownership is absolutely on her own terms.

Anglo celt.**** (Feb 28 2008)

I was looking forward to having a listen to Maria,s interpretations of classic songs and I have not been disappointed.Maria has treated these great songs with huge respect,her sound is stripped bare of frills and is just pure interpretive singing.The song that really floats my boat on this recording is the Thin Lizzy track “Still in Love with you“. It is quite simply breathtaking.

Limerick Leader (April 12 2008)

If there are two categories of artist in Ireland - a premier league and a conference division if you will - Maria Doyle Kennedy certainly belongs to the top tier of musicians in this country. Perhaps seen as something of an aloof figure she nonetheless possesses the type of voice most female vocalists would die for ,as well as having the individualism and courage to push boundaries with her music.

Tracklist

1. Lovesong
2. Video Killed The Radio Star
3. And I Love You So
4. Red Sails In The Sunset
5. Girls,Girls,Girls
6. Going Down
7. Shipbuilding
8. Sailin Around
9. Death Of Queen Jane
10. Still In Love With You
11. Could Not Love You More
12. Breakdown
13. S O S
14. West Virginia

Produced by Kieran Kennedy.

Contact Mermaid Records:

Antoinette Golding (Office Manager)

Mermaid Records

Tel No.. 00-353-87-6597669.

Mermaid Records Ltd Vat Registered IE 8289762N.