Lohan, ‘No Mermaid’ Mixes Pop With Irish Traditions

Toward the end of her sold-out Troubadour show Thursday, singer-songwriter Sinead Lohan gently but firmly set listeners straight about her lilting single ‘No Mermaid.” “It has been misinterpreted as some sort of feminist stance,” the young Irish artist said. “It’s not that at all. I’m no mermaid. That’s all I’m saying.”

That explanation seemed too straightforward for the title track of her U.S. debut album, a poetic, traditional-feeling tune that illuminates the way two people, or perhaps two sides of the same person, differ over matters of pleasure and practicality. But it illustrated the quiet determination of this up-and-coming musician.

Drifting between languid, ethereal folk-pop and a soulful, jazzy groove, Lohan and her quartet’s hourlong set was less ornamental than her album but still evoked its lush sonic landscapes. Her incisive lyrics brought to mind folk heroes like Joan Baez, while her music displayed an eccentric pop sensibility not unlike Natalie Merchant’s.

Such songs as “Don’t I Know” capture relationship dramas in intimate emotional detail, while “Whatever It Takes” soars with a joyous sense of self. However, in spite of Lohan’s lovely, earnest singing, the performance frequently slipped from hypnotic to somnambulant. She appeared confident and luminous on stage, but not quite commanding. Still, she harbored a subtle, undeniable power that suggested we’ll be hearing a lot more from her.