MUCH as she may dislike the preconceptions that arrive with the tag "female singer-songwriter", Cathy Davey is surprisingly at ease with the inevitable appearance of those words alongside her name in print.

"Oh, it's unavoidable," she says, almost lackadaisically.

"There's all sorts of baggage that comes with that label, but usually it's used by people who haven't heard me properly and are just trying to pin me down. I can't avoid it, I can't escape some of the cliches."

Dublin girl Cathy opens her UK tour with a free gig at Bournemouth's Consortium bar tonight (August 26), where she'll showcase her infectious debut album, Something Ilk, which was released on Monday.

One listen is all you need to know she's not like other female singer-songwriters. The sounds on Something Ilk range from the hopelessly upbeat Go Make It to the lyrically imposing darkness embodied in Hammerhead; and while the songs are undoubtedly very personal, they're encased in musical settings that feel much more like a band.

"I guess I can be quite bossy, but the songs are mine - I mean, I never wanted to share creative responsibility for writing with anyone. But what's the point of having brilliant musicians with you if all you do is tell them what to play? The band contribute ideas to the sound of the songs.

"I suppose the songs are very personal - even when I try to take another point of view it always comes out as my own!"

Plucked from the obscurity of her Dublin home, where she had played just four gigs mainly to friends, she was taken on the rounds of the UK record labels by her manager Oliver Walsh. Rather than follow the traditional route of setting up showcase gigs, Cathy let her demos do the talking.

"I was very nervous of playing live anyway, but it wouldn't have been right to put the songs on stage in the wrong context.

"They're meant to be heard with a band so although it was exhausting going round lots of different companies it has paid off now. I'm as happy as I can be with the album, but can't wait to start the next."

Touring with the likes of Supergrass and Graham Coxon has given her added confidence on stage as she's now discovering the joys of letting her songs take her where they will night after night.

"Oh, sometimes this can feel like a job - but what a job!

"I'd love to get back to my room in my house and start writing again, but going out live there are times these songs just do something for me.

"I recorded them but never thought about how they were going to get out there. I just assumed they would get put out somehow. Like magic."