TRACK REVIEW: Sinead O'Brien - Fall With Me

TRACK REVIEW:

Sinead O’Brien

PHOTO CREDIT: Zac Mahrouche

Fall With Me

9.5/10

The track, Fall With Me, is available from:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GyHMcoYqhSM

GENRES:

Punk/Spoken Word

ORIGIN:

London, U.K.

RELEASE DATE:

11th March, 2020

MUSIC WRITTEN BY:

Sinead O’Brien, Julian Hanson & Oscar Robertson

PRODUCED BY:

Dan Carey

ENGINEERED BY:

Alexis Smith

MIXED BY:

Dan Carey

MASTERED BY:

Kevin Tuffy

LABEL:

Chess Club

__________

I have been concentrating a lot…

PHOTO CREDIT: Louise Mason

on mainstream artists for reviews lately, and I think there are some great newer artists that warrant attention. I have been keen to review Sinead O’Brien, as she is someone capturing a lot of love right now. I will come to the review of her latest track, Fall With Me, in a minute, but there are a few things to uncover when it comes to her music and start. In terms of sound and style, it is hard to define O’Brien’s music. She is a Punk artist, but there are elements of Post-Punk and other genres. Maybe it is best not to label artists when it comes to sound, but I think there are elements of the great Punk artists, some wonderful poets, and artists like Patti Smith. It is a wonderful blend, and I am especially drawn to her love of words. All songwriters, in a sense, are poets, but O’Brien is someone who has that deep affection and curiosity regarding language. A lot of new artists coming through are being noted because of their blend of spoken word and Post-Punk elements. Sinead O’Brien is fearless when it comes to words, and the way she writes and articulates her feelings is amazing. I want to bring in an interview from October of last year, where O’Brien’s poetic nature was discussed:

“Packing grace and grit in equal measure, Sinead has already built up a fearsome reputation for her unique blend of spoken word delivery and post-punk principles – something she certainly never envisioned herself pursuing as a convent school student in Limerick.

“I always had an interest in English, but I had some pretty tough teachers,” she explains. “The way poetry was taught in school didn’t interest me at that point. It was all about learning the poems off by heart. The fact that we were supposed to be analysing the poet’s intention kind of disgusted me, too. To me, it was up to everyone to find their own interpretation.

PHOTO CREDIT: Matilda Hill-Jenkins

“When it comes to the word ‘poetry’, people get so uptight,” she laughs. “I’m quite loose with the word – I’m definitely not calling myself an academic. But I don’t think anyone should be afraid to use their words, because there’s no better way to express yourself.”

From there, Sinead found herself sharing a stage with legendary punk-poet John Cooper Clarke.

“He’s wild,” she laughs. “Being Irish, I’m quite polite, especially when I get to meet these big personalities. So I was giving him all the space in the world, but no – he wanted to bring us back to hotel and buy us drinks – and chat and sing with us the whole night. It was the most brilliant, inclusive experience ever. It showed me that someone at the top of their game can still be so generous”.

I spent my childhood writing poetry, and I always felt that, even when we were encouraged to write, there was a sense (from some other kids) that it was not cool. I wonder what would have happened if I continued writing poetry, as I was quite good back then. I wonder whether poetry is included in the curriculum, and how children are taught these days. I listen to a lot of music, but it is not too often that I reflect on the lyrics that hard. Maybe that is because I am hooked to the vocal and composition, but there is something about an artist who puts the words to the front that grabs me. Poetry and songwriting are different, so one will experience a different sensation when they experience song lyrics compared to poetry. Many songwriters find it hard to write in a poetic style, as they feel too constricted. Likewise, I think it is hard for a lot of poets to be as expansive and musical as artists. Sinead O’Brien can bridge the two worlds, and it is evident poetry was a big part of her early life.

When she spoke with GoldenPlec in August last year, the theme of poetry and its influence on her lyrics came up:

“<<GP>> You're obviously a fan of poetry. What writers in particular influence your lyrics? What else has an impact on how you write/what you write about?

Poetry is something I look to for structure and form. Like a choreographer might use a classical ballet as the framework to create something new, I see poetry and song structure in that way. Like a tool.

Content, however, comes from outside of that. It’s one thing having something to say and quite another to find your own particular way to say it. That’s style. My favourite poets to read and re-read would be T.S. Eliot, W.B. Yeats, Frank O'Hara. I love Joan Didion for her direct voice and her almost ‘documentary' style, Camus and when I get completely crazy and want to go into a wide-open space I dive into philosophy.

I write in a quite realistic style, there is a lot of ‘I’, ‘You’, ‘We’. Real people. The subjects are everyday-universal but I want to give a very particular and individual voice to that”.

Although O’Brien is now based in London, she has had an itinerant life so far. She is an Irish artist, and I have a particular love of Irish acts. Of course, there is a great scene coming from Ireland right now. Bands like Fontaines D.C. are proving – if it needed to be – that Ireland is a nation with as much variety, quality, and passion as anywhere else in the world. Not only does O’Brien’s discovery of poetry move me and provokes all sorts of images; I also wonder about where she lived and how the people and landscape impacted her. I can envisage the young O’Brien reading poetry, playing records, and scribbling notes and thoughts.

PHOTO CREDIT: Zac Mahrouche

Maybe she did follow chart music and was hanging with friends who listened to that kind of stuff, but I get the feeling she was drawn more to artists and voices who were more concerned with feel and the depths of language, rather than melodic hooks and accessibility. In terms of her surroundings, the native tongue and the warmth of the people would have hit her. I think geography and upbringing is hugely influential when it comes to the music you make. I am not suggesting she drips Ireland and that is the only thing of note. What I mean is that Ireland her young life is all part of this magnificent mix and unique D.N.A. In terms of O’Brien and where she lived, what was covered in an interview with Loud and Quiet back in October of last year:

“O’Brien was born in Dublin before the family moved west to Limerick where she lived until she returned to the Irish capital to study in her late teens. Her love of words and music began to develop at an early age, though they wouldn’t marry until much later. Sinead tells the story of how, when she was five or six, she would return from school with her ‘spelling book’ bulging with advanced new entries. Her parents grew suspicious and checked with the next-door neighbour (a primary teacher). “My dad was like, ‘she’s giving herself extra homework so that she can be better!” I was pretty keen on homework in general. I had a school bag before I had a school.”

Music wasn’t far behind either. “I was sitting in the car with my mum, I was six, and I completely remember. I just had this notion – I want to learn piano.” Initially, lessons were at a chaotic School for Music before she swapped those for the more formal private tutorials administered by a stern old-fashioned antiques dealer. “She took care of my hands,” remembers O’Brien. “Sometimes she would even take my nail varnish off. It was etiquette – you come like this to the class. I absolutely loved it.” She kept taking lessons until she was 18. “I’ve always done best under very tough teaching,” she says.

PHOTO CREDIT: Lola Stephens

By her late teens the allure the big(ger) city – “my New York or something” – was growing. She had enlisted at college in Limerick, but after one year transferred onto a course in Fashion Design in Dublin – an intensive group with four teachers and twelve students. The rigorous mentoring style suited her, and towards the end of her studies O’Brien was selected to work at Dior in Paris for five months”.

I will come to fashion in a bit, because that is another interesting facet of Sinead O’Brien. One of the reasons why I was drawn to music and poetry as a child was because of the routine and rather mundane nature of school. I loved being there, because I got to meet some wonderful friends, and it was a very important part of my life. I think the fact that children are taught the same things and everything is very rule-bound means that, invariably, those with big imaginations will want to break free or find some form of meaning and individuality in other forms. For me, music was a different world that broke all barriers, and it provided lessons, textures and possibilities that I could not get from lessons. Likewise, I feel O’Brien’s educational experience was one that provoked her to explored music, poetry and fashion. In October, O’Brien spoke with So Young Magazine, and she talked about her school life:

“What’s special about where you’re from? Has it inspired your music?

Limerick (home of The Cranberries & Richard Harris) named after a form of poetry which was used by writers and poets including Joyce, Lewis Carrol and Mark Twain.

Growing up, I went to an all girls catholic school. My art teacher was the last remaining nun who was surprisingly focused on helping me get into art school. It was quite picturesque – six hundred girls in floor length skirts, ties done all the way up, marching up and down six flights of stairs in this big beautiful 19th century building.

PHOTO CREDIT: Matilda Hill-Jenkins

I looked for points of differences amongst the uniformity. The city has influenced me strongly too – it still does. I went to a lot of gigs during those years. When bands from London or Tokyo which no-one had ever heard of would come – it felt like a time of discovery. Laying the foundation for my own musical taste and ideas. The music you listen to – its such a commitment, it almost cut people up into distinctive groups, dividing and coming together. Flocks of young animals just trying to understand. When I come back to Limerick I pick up just there, where I left off. I keep coming back and understanding and discovering. It’s coming back with purpose, reflecting who I am now against the place I grew up. It’s a very sensitive and almost invisible process but something precious.

What led you to start writing and performing songs?

I moved to Paris in 2012 after graduating from Art school in Dublin. A friend saying goodbye casually suggested that I write an online piece and call it ‘freak watching in the city’! I started to write short pieces during my off time from beneath rainy cafe awnings, inside the Pompidou centre, at my home on canal St Martin and every place between. I love to observe and write my environment and found a kind of humor in it at that time. To me it was almost ridiculous – to be a ‘stranger’ noting down strange things. I found it surreal and really connected with that. It’s quite theatrical to say ‘here I am and this is what I’m seeing’. Like opening a curtain and revealing your world. Impact and drama. I alway find a sense of drama in the everyday. It’s interesting and gritty.

The pieces began to take on the shape of poems and I began working on them to give more symmetry and form. It’s not like you know why or what you’re doing, just a piece or work which needs working on. It wasn’t until I had several notebooks full that I felt a reason to perform”.

PHOTO CREDIT: Zac Mahrouche

I sort of think that O’Brien’s life and progress into music begs for some sort of television or film drama. Few of us think about an artist’s early life and how that moulded them. Today, we are given music and we listen at such a fast rate; how regularly do you stop and think about that artist and how they got into music? I love the fact O’Brien had this strict school life, but she was this artistic and slightly bohemian soul who yearned for poetry and fashion; one imagined she would have felt more at home watching people walk past a café, or taking a stroll down a picturesque street. I suppose that, even as a child, O’Brien was dreaming of the city and what it could offer. Fashion is quite a big part of O’Brien’s work and music. She always looks very stylish and cool when she is being photographed; she is a stunning woman with incredible beauty, but there is this edge and powerful image she projects. Mixing sophistication with something distinctly her own, the eye is drawn to the women behind the music. That world of fashion and poetry sort of blend; it is so different to everything else in music. I think so many young artists are either flaunting flesh to sell music, or there is not a lot of consideration given to image and standing out. Sinead O’Brien is a songwriter who can be called and Irish Punk; she could be seen as someone who embraces the unknown. In my view, O’Brien is someone you cannot tag and limit – unlike so many of her peers. Whilst words and the masters of the past have helped shape her, I think people are just as worthy. O’Brien has this fascination with people and just seeing the world rush by.

PHOTO CREDIT: @hotpress

Returning to the interview from Loud and Quiet, O’Brien talked about her time in Paris and how, when she could, she would frequent a café and note down her observations. It is really interesting to imagine O’Brien people-watching:

“However, it wasn’t just in fashion where O’Brien became well versed in Paris. During any spare time she’d indulge in the French tradition of drinking in cafés and watching the world go by. “Cafés – my second home,” she quips. As a distraction she began writing short observational poems. “At first they’d be more humorous – they were my way of entertaining myself. I would laugh and then maybe share it with a friend or something.” Together with a pal they came up with a title for these playful short passages: Freak Watching In The City. Sometimes she’d share these stories with mates, posting her work on Facebook. They’d do the same. “I liked the back ’n’ forth.” Soon that work took a more philosophical turn, or in O’Brien’s words, “became a bit bigger than funny shoes or something like that… but still looking at the daily things. The grit of it. People’s coming and going”.

I will get to reviewing very soon but, rather than introduce you to an artist who has been tipped for success and give you a few lines about Fall With Me, I wanted to give some time up to explore a brilliant artist and really interesting woman who has so many layers. Whether it is her discovery of poetry, the desire to study fashion, or how strict her school life was, O’Brien is not one who wants to be restricted and narrowed. A lot of artists like to remain in their comfort zone and do the same thing, but O’Brien is an artist who does not mind being exposed and leaving herself open to fear and uncertainty. I think that can really push an artist and lead to something beautiful.

PHOTO CREDIT: Matilda Hill-Jenkins

It was inevitable Sinead O’Brien would be discovered and would find a home for her music, but she is not like so many artists around her. If she was given a lot of time to record or told what sort of songs to write, that would have been very hard to take. Her meeting with Dan Carey – the main guy at Speedy Wunderground – was pivotal. It seemed like she had found this natural home; an environment that allowed her to record how she wanted: a sense of speed and this urgency; a quite raw and almost live-sounding style of recording. I want to quote from an interview in DIY, where O’Brien talked about meeting Carey:

“Meticulously thought-through and writing from the position of unguarded narrator (“I sometimes have these realisations when I’m performing where I feel naked, but that’s a good thing. I like the exposure; I like daring to be scared”), Sinead’s early output soon caught the eye of expert talent spotter and Speedy Wunderground main man Dan Carey, who brought her in to record debut single ‘Taking On Time’ last summer. Now, the pair have just finished laying down her debut EP. “He just knows how to get your thing into being and make something more like you than you ever even knew. He knows how to get you to become so alive and then you freeze it there,” she enthuses. “That sense of confinement [Speedy Wunderground tracks are all recorded within 24 hours] and limit is where I thrive; I think that makes me explode”.

Before moving along to Fall With Me, I want to end this section by exploring O’Brien’s writing process. One imagines O’Brien would have just moved from writing her own poetry to bringing that into the studio. Like inspirations and early life, I think it is interesting to see how O’Brien’s music has progressed, and how she has got to this stage.

PHOTO CREDIT: Zac Mahrouche

A few days back, an interview was published in The Quietus. This is an interesting section of the interview that tells how she met some very important collaborators:

“More crucial than either that gig, or even the Windmill show, however, was her meeting Julian Hanson, with whom she now writes and performs (Burns’ role was a one-off). After first meeting one night in the MOTH Club in Hackney and swapping numbers, Hanson “started to come into my life as a dripping tap,” she says. “He used to come over sometimes and he’d play the guitar on the floor of my tiny box room, and at some point I just started reading against him playing. It felt really good, I think we were a bit shocked about what the clash ended up being. I hate the word random, but when you put two random things together, sometimes it takes a bit of a while to understand what happened – if it’s a good thing or if it’s just a nothing. But I think that once we started to lock in, and work together, at the same time as becoming really good friends, it kind of made sense.”

From there, O’Brien and Hanson, who is based in Nottingham, as well as London-based drummer Oscar Robertson, began endlessly swapping references and trading long voice messages as they built upon that brilliant early collision, O’Brien’s instincts for finding the music in her writing growing sharper and sharper as her and Hanson’s understanding grows. “Every single day, every hour I have spare, I’m writing,” she says. “Whether it’s in my notebook or my phone or whatever, and I’m always listening to music. Sometimes Julian sends me little snippets of guitar, and I start to get a feeling for what might be the hook of a song. As soon as I have something where I can imagine what it looks like, I book a train and go see Julian in Nottingham, or he comes to me. He never listens to the playlists I send him, he wont listen to any of the references I have, which is brilliant, because he can never hear what I heard. We question each other a lot, we carve and shape things together, intrusively in a way, but it’s very welcome and wanted in that way. It all comes down to the fact that I love everything he does”.

PHOTO CREDIT: NME

Sinead O’Brien’s music seems almost like these important speeches; almost Gospel-like in a way. To start with, Fall With Me sees O’Brien backed by a sort of spacey electronic sound as she talks about this most basic of cities; this is a chance for people to join with O’Brien and surrender. When talking about the song’s inspiration, O’Brien said that she wanted people to sink and imagine, just for a moment, what it would be like to surrender and give yourself over to that pleasure. “You can’t imagine/This state that we’re in” is an intriguing mantra and thought that makes me curious whether the ‘state’ refers to what is happening in the world at large, or whether she is talking about surrendering and what that feels like. The chorus sees O’Brien repeating the song’s title; it becomes more hypnotic and strong every time the words are sung. Backed by guitar and drum, it is a gear switch from the opening moments. Going from this naked and poetry-like start, the song evolves and grows. Our heroine will takes us further; “Lullaby in reverse”; let this lullaby, as she says, “subvert your feelings” – words delivered with such meaning and potency, that you keep going back time and time again. Ever since I heard O’Brien’s music, I have been amazed by her lyrics and how powerful they are. One immerses themselves in songs, and imagines scenes unfolding. In terms of specific inspiration and meaning, I think there is room to interpret. O’Brien talks about spring arriving after the snow; these giant leaps happening. Like poetry, one can speculate as to interpretation, but everyone will get something different from the same words. This very basic city – whether referring to London or somewhere else – is just one place to go.

I get the sense there is this pining for movement and not being rooted. O’Brien, as someone who has lived in different places in her life, cannot be tied to one city, and I think she finds peace and meaning experiencing different people and places. I love how O’Brien’s Irish accent adds something special. There is this romantic-cum-conversational sound to her voice that resonates. “Is this what it feels like to speak too freely?” is another line that jumped out. Again, I was wondering what that line referred to and whether O’Brien was referring to political and big conversation, or just speaking freely in her personal life. “Confusion is the war on us” is another brilliant line – in a song full of them -, and I start to piece together different interpretations and possibilities each time I play the song. O’Brien declares that she doesn’t want to wait any more. I feel this desire that the heroine has to break away from the conventional and there’s that need to surrender and let go. I am not sure what the act of falling would entail. Whether it is a sort of meditative release, or something more provocative and revolutionary, one is invested and engrossed. The final stages combine some guiding and illustrative bass, beats, and guitar, as O’Brien’s words continue to stir the mind. I have listened to Fall With Me a number of times, and I think it is a song that unveils itself the more you investigate. I know O’Brien has a gig at London's Chats Palace on 21st May, and many people will want to hear Fall With Me on the stage. This is another fantastic and triumphant song from a super-talented artist who is gaining more followers and fans by the week. I think she is one of this year’s most promising artists, and there is going to be definite demand for an E.P. or album from this brilliant songwriter.

PHOTO CREDIT: DIY

I have talked a lot about Sinead O’Brien’s early life, and what she is putting out right now. She has been tipped by so many publications – including NME -, and everyone can see this exceptional artist who will have a very long future. I wonder whether O’Brien will get an official website soon, where she can combine all of her work, thoughts and information. Also, I think there is talk of an E.P. coming, because she has released some great singles that would melt together superbly. On that note, many might wonder whether an album is coming and what she has planned regarding more music. The Irish poet and songwriter has made big strides through the years, but she is now based in London. I wonder whether a new setting will guide her music. Of course, O’Brien is no stranger to London, and it seems like movement and experiencing new cities suits her well. Returning to the GoldenPlec interview, the seduction of cities was covered:

“I used to come to London every summer while I was studying in Dublin. I love cities and needed to feel that big expansiveness in contrast to where I grew up. I appreciate the appeal of both places very much now. But I needed to follow that feeling so after Paris in 2013 I moved to London for my first design job. A lot of my close friends from home were here too so it was easy. Like having another base.

I’m also quite easily adjusted to places, I absorb the newness and collect as I go. I don’t leave where I've been behind - I add to it. So, in a way, I feel like I have built up a collection of places (Limerick, Clare, Dublin, Paris, London) I feel a strong connection to”.

If you want to see O’Brien tour, check out her movements. Of course, I am not sure how things are going to change for her and every other artist at the moment, what with the coronavirus. It is a challenging time, so gigs might get cancelled. I hope there are plenty of gigs for Sinead O’Brien this year, as she is a wonderful artist who produces these incredible shows. Gigwise caught her in London last month, and they were stunned by what they witnessed:

“Visuals are as much a part of the set as the punch of the music. Bathed in a sanguine light, Sinead appears on stage in a luxuriously draped silk gown the colour of rust – emphasizing the fluidity in which she floats around the stage, waif-like. A dancer fills the space of what would be a pit given the right circumstances, but instead she is interpretive and mesmerizing, adding an entirely new sense of creativity to the proceedings.

Whilst there is a delicacy in the artform of performance, there is no denying that there is a commanding power that emanates from the poet. As the musician’s wax and wane in crescendo, Sinead’s hands are the silent conductor subtly flickering in unspoken communications to let the band know that it’s time to simmer down and let the words carry their weight. Apart from a few words of thanks the set is fast-paced, carried by the urgency of Sinead’s distinctive craft and the intensity of her gaze.

Serving as a transportation to times far gone, but yet to be lost, SET Dalston was host to an unforgettable night for those who are enticed by the idea of pushing creative boundaries and carving our spaces for themselves in a world that is often resistant to change”.

There is a bright future ahead for O’Brien - and I am looking forward to seeing where she heads. There is going to be more material, and many people will watch her closely. There is something different about O’Brien and what she is writing. Her music is deeply moving and interesting; the way she delivers her words is amazing, and I just know O’Brien will keep on growing and storm the music scene. She is fairly new out of the blocks, but I think this year will be a massive one. Once the coronavirus problems subside, O’Brien will be very busy indeed. If you have not heard and followed this amazing artist yet, rectify that and get involved. Unique, poetic, and incredibly passionate, Sinead O’Brien is an…