Running through the song titles of Lisa Hannigan’s third album– ‘Prayer for the Dying’, ‘Funeral Suit’, ‘We, The Drowned’ to name a few – it quickly becomes apparent that the usually cheerful singer-songwriter has undergone something of a shift in disposition in the almost five years since we last head from her. Gone are the slightly twee 'plinky-plonky' sounds of her debut Sea Sew and the wide-eyed wonder and winking humour of her second effort Passenger. In its place we have lush, sparse arrangements courtesy of the National’s Aaron Dessner and cavernous spaces for introspection and soul searching. There’s no denying that At Swim is an altogether more solemn affair, but there’s still plenty to enjoy and admire here for those willing to wade a little deeper.

First single ‘Fall’ sets the mood early on – a delicate acoustic torch song with soft echoes of electric guitar that allows Hannigan’s voice to the fore with a stripped back approach typical of the record as a whole. The album maintains a consistent sonic pallet with the following tracks, ‘Prayer for the Dying’ is an orchestral exploration of the grief of losing a long-time partner while ‘Lo’ builds to a hypnotic refrain from a simple guitar figure and Hannigan’s plaintive vocals.

It’s clear that this is most Hannigan’s most understated collection of songs thus far and while it might not be as immediate or joyful as her earlier work, there are still moments of undeniable beauty to be found here. ‘Ora’ is a delicate piano ballad with Hannigan’s voice floating over the keys, angelic as ever, while ‘We, The Drowned’ comes to life with a soaring chorus. ‘Anahorish’ is a short acapella that could double as a hymn and is nothing short of heavenly. Hannigan proves she is interested in breaking new ground on these tracks and they are some of the most beguiling on the record.

Her voice is different here too – deeper and rawer than on previous efforts, keeping with the tone of the new material. Much of this might be attributed to the influence of Dessner who is on production duties for the project. Hannigan recently spoke of her difficulty in relocating her songwriting muse in the aftermath of the gruelling two years on the road in support of Passenger and she credits an out-of-the-blue email from Dessner with sparking her creatively once more. There are certainly moments where echoes of Dessner’s day job can be heard in the soundscapes but this is still unmistakably Hannigan’s record, even if the world created her isn’t quite as colourful as the one we are accustomed to when listening to a Lisa Hannigan record.

In a recent interview with The Irish Times, Hannigan spoke of wanting to appear 'happy' on her earlier records in the aftermath of the dissolution of her creative collaboration with Damien Rice. The material here is closer to the moody material she lent her vocal talents to on Rice’s O and 9 than either of her two solo records. Hannigan seems comfortable enough to let her guard down and her vulnerable approach works well across the 11 tracks here, taking us into a deeper darker terrain that on either of her earlier albums, even if some of the little joys that made the previous work so irresistible are sacrificed.

Since her emergence as a solo artist, Hannigan has been drawn to all things nautical. On her third full length, she continues that fascination, treading new water and exploring new routes on many of the tracks, but still ultimately in search of new shores.