Star rating: ****

Paul Burch is a Nashville-based singer/songwriter who released his first album some 10 years ago and has worked with the likes of Kurt Wagner along the way. That his star isn't brighter comes as something of a surprise given how easily accessible his music is.

From the opening tune, Montreal, Saturday night's audience was treated to an hour of some of the most modern, yet reverential, country I've heard in a long time.

It's impossible not to draw comparisons with a younger Dylan, in terms of both Burch's lyrics and nasal singing style.

His tribute to John Peel, in which he barely stopped to draw breath, is reminiscent of something from Bringing It All Back Home.

Over a bluesy, swaggering beat, Burch recounted a visit to Peel's home where the latter told stories of Eddie Cochran and Lonnie Donegan.

But Burch goes beyond the folk club, his styles shifting seamlessly between country, folk, blues and rockabilly. With an obvious love of tradition, his sparse instrumentation and down-home vocals meant that songs such as Before The Bell and the doo-wop-inflected Bad Girl She Used To Be were played with overwhelming conviction.

Ultimately, it is Burch's knack for keeping the old forms vital and alive which seal his success.