Album Review
Sinead O’Brien - Time Bend And Break The Bower
4 StarsAn experience worth immersing yourself in.
Sinead O’Brien’s long-awaited debut, ‘Time Bend And Break The Bower’, almost feels a little late. The spoken-word post-punk bubble seems to have all but burst, with even Black Country, New Road trying to shake off the label. But if there was one record worth waiting for from this crop of artists, it’s this one. Sinead carries the torch passed by the likes of Patti Smith, John Cooper Clarke and Nick Cave; punk poets with one foot in the apocalyptic, the other in earthly, industrial locales. Across the record, she channels their natural energy, where the words seem to tumble effortlessly, every listen feeling like it’s the first time she’s spoken them. But, like the music that surrounds those words, this isn’t improvisational; to misquote Dolly Parton, it takes a lot of tightening to sound this loose. The music and lyrics find their own rhythm together, with jagged edges and sparse beats making for the perfect foil to Sinead’s beautifully-emotionless delivery. Here, one side is not just the soundtrack or accompaniment to the other - instead there’s great joy in hearing where she takes a phrase or an idea next. A simple cry of “dance” transforms into a command fuelled by desperation on the electric ‘Like Culture’. Her lyricism is less bothered by the surreality of the mundane - an area her closest contemporary, Florence Shaw of Dry Cleaning, has all sown up. Instead this is about making sense of the unknowable; the stuff you can’t grasp, like the erosion of time on the shape-shifting ‘Multitudes’. It may not rock the boat stylistically, with her influences always ever-present, but ‘Time Bend And Break The Bower’ is an experience worth immersing yourself in by unravelling the meaning or just following Sinead’s lead down the rabbit hole.

Sinead O'Brien - Signed Silver Foil White Deluxe 12" Vinyl + Booklet, Super Black 12" Classic Vinyl & Signed Cassette
£49

Sinead O'Brien - Signed Silver Foil White Deluxe 12" Vinyl + Booklet, CD, Signed Cassette + Lyric Print
£42

Sinead O'Brien - Signed Silver Foil White Deluxe 12" Vinyl + Booklet & Signed Cassette
£28

Sinead O'Brien - Time Bend And Break The Bower CD & Signed Cassette
£12

Sinead O'Brien - Time Bend And Break The Bower 12 Inch Vinyl
£20

Sinead O'Brien - Time Bend And Break The Bower CD
£10
Read More
Sinead O’Brien releases new single ‘Girlkind’
Taken from her forthcoming debut album.
2nd November 2021, 12:00am
Sinead O’Brien shares new track ‘Kid Stuff’
It's her first release since last year's debut EP.
7th April 2021, 12:00am
Rewatch our Hello 2021 show with Sinead O’Brien, Yard Act and deep tan!
Streamed straight to your living room from the state51 Factory.
21st January 2021, 12:00am
Sinead O’Brien - Drowning In Blessings
4 Stars
There's more hidden within than one listen can decipher; we’re confident it’s worth the effort.
15th September 2020, 8:00am
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