Sinead O'Brien - Drowning In Blessings EP

After a string of captivating singles, Sinead O’Brien steps up again with a debut EP that cements her place as one of the most fascinating, exciting and unique talents around right now. Produced by Dan Carey (honestly, does the man ever sleep), the four songs here are the perfect representation of an artist who sees the world differently to the rest of us. Continually blurring the lines between poetry, art and music, it is something to get fully immersed in.

There’s something powerful in the challenge of picking apart her words and ideas, but in truth you don’t ever need to fully understand. At times it feels like going to a country where you can only make out half of what is said, but you don’t really care because everything feels right anyway. There are themes of understanding the self, life’s duality and hidden cities tucked away in snatches of half-heard conversations and her own inner monologue.

As the lyrics crash and merge with the music beneath and behind her, it seems like you are being both pushed and pulled at the same time. The songs ebb and flow, building and crashing almost completely separate to her vocals, yet absolutely bound to them at the same time. It is fitting that ‘Fall With Me’ offers an invitation to surrender, as by the end that is inescapable.

Jamie MacMillan