Talking Point:

Nominations for the Choice Music Prize to recognise the best Irish albums of the year were unveiled last night. Shocked to see Kodaline get a nod, but no surprise to find that three of my favourite Irish albums of 2013 - Villagers' Awayland, Girls Names' The New Life and Bell X1's Chop Chop.

And speaking of albums, the biggest selling album of 2013 turns out to be Justin Timberlake's 20/20 Experience. It shifted 2.4 million copies - which is really low when one considers that Adele's 21 sold 5.8 million copies when it was released in 2011 and 5.2 million the following year. The figure for 2013 is indicative of just how much album sales have declined.

Album of the week:

Bruce Springsteen's 18th studio album, High Hopes. His legions of fans will want it in their collection and there are some stunning songs, including his brilliant recording of his polemical live favourite 41 Shots (American Skin), but it does feel like something of a stop-gap due to the lack of original songs, the high level of covers and the fact that he has re-recorded some of his own old songs.

Tip of the week:

Dublin songwriter James Vincent McMorrow returns with an excellent second album, Post Tropical. It's taken him four years to follow-up his acclaimed debut and the wait has been worth it - there's huge confidence on display here. He's not afraid to experiment too, especially on the title track

Gig of the week:

Cass McCombs in Dublin's Workman's Club on Saturday night. The Californian singer-songwriter has led a nomadic existence across the US and much of that finds its way into his absorbing, confessional songs. He's prolific too - releasing seven albums in the past 10 years.