Lisa Hannigan's debut solo album, titled Sea Sew, was prepared in a barn in Thomastown and recorded in Dublin before being released in Ireland on 12 September 2008.The lead single, "Lille", was made available as a free download on lisahannigan.ie on 25 August.The sleeve featured needle-work knitted by Hannigan. She had previously previewed tracks "Lille", "Pistachio", "Some Surprise" and "Sea Song" on her MySpace page with the message: "I'm in the middle of making my first record and I want it to come out as soon as possible so I can sing in venues more socially acceptable than Superquinn and the Luas Station." The album was a critical success, earning rave reviews and being named by some music critics amongst the best Irish albums of the year.