The Goo 1
JUNE-JULY 2022 A HYBRID OF NINE INCH NAILS, MASSI
VE ATTACK, MARS VOLTA AND TOOL, POWERED BY THE UNORTHODOX.. JOHN BRERETON SINEAD O’BRIEN Time Bend And Break The Bower THE MAIN STRENGTH OF THIS RECORD IS ITS ABILITY TO MOVE BOTH BODY AND SOUL First up, this record sounds fantastic. Produced by man of the moment Dan Carey (Wet Leg, Squid, Fontaines DC, Black Midi) the instruments are beautifully recorded with monstrous drums and guitars in your face at all times. Time Bend and Break The Bower is Dublin born Sinead O’Brien’s debut album and, with significant allies like Carey and the BBC, it’s no surprise that her stock is very high. Delivering her words/lyrics in the very voguish Sprechgesang (German for “spoken singing”) style, O’Brien cites The Fall as an inspiration JOHN BRERETON PAUL QUIN Life On Earth THEMES OF ALIENATION, DRUG ADDICTION, SELF ESTEEM, HOMELESSNESS AND BEREAVEMENT ARE ALL TACKLED HEAD ON As with life on earth itself, It’s been a long journey in the evolution of Dubliner Paul Quin. From 1980’s electro pop pioneers Biazarre to this, his debut album, Quin’s path has been a road less travelled, one of heartbreak, sadness, joy and thrills but one that has always maintained a style and diligence that deserves utmost respect and latitude. Always the outsider, Quin has consistently been a visible emblem of Ireland’s burgeoning LGBTI+ community and it’s his inherent humanity and belief that love will always win out that informs the fascinating lyrical content on the album. ‘A Better Place’ is a reworking of his 1989 radio hit (dedicated to his erstwhile Biazarre musical partner John Butler, who passed away in 1998) and sadly for us as a nation, that fear and the hostility that was prevalent against the community in 1989 still holds today. Themes of alienation, drug addiction, self esteem, homelessness and bereavement are all tackled head on by the fearless Quin and while it’s not all grime and grit, ‘The Absinthe Bar’ is an invigorating tale of a Parisian one night stand - his autobiographical honesty and bravery is commendable throughout. Musically it strides between classic dancefloor Erasure type electro pop; ‘Girls On The Beach’ and ‘Modern Times’ being standouts; and grand guignol balladry and it’s here that Quin excels. ‘Sympathy’, ‘Be Yourself Girl’ and the album’s title track are where Quin’s musical and stylistical muses meet and marry most satisfactorily (think Ute Lemper/Marc Almond) pointing the way forward to his next evolutionary step. but its Patti Smith, PJ Harvey and Laurie Anderson that feel more like her verbal template, while musically it veers closer to the angular post punk funk of Gang of Four, Wire and Talking Heads. High praise indeed but whether you gravitate towards this album will hinge on your opinion on O’Briens delivery of her poetry. Consistent with the viscerality of the instruments, O’Brien inhabits the words more than, say Dry Cleanings Florence Shaw, or Yard Acts James Smith, and this allows her the freedom to gyrate both against and amongst the music which is something she never shirks. It’s most successful on tracks like ‘Pain Is The Fashion Of The Spirit’, the groovy ‘Like Culture’ and ‘Holy Country’, its Nick Drake like acoustic motif giving way to a heavy sine wave electro groove that propels the body dancefloorward. Hopefully O’Briens words will be printed on the album’s artwork as it will be illuminating to see how they read without the musical backing but ultimately the main strength of this record is its ability to move both body and soul. PAGE 15