Sinead O'Brien shares spectacular new single “Roman Ruins” alongside debut EP announcement

Sinead O’Brien’s immaculate precision with words first brought her widespread attention last year with the Speedy Wunderground-released single “Taking On Time”, as well as her AA release “Limbo” and “A Thing You Call Joy” - works which saw her garner comparisons with everyone from Mark E. Smith to W. B. Yeats.

However, it’s not just the words themselves that make O’Brien so endlessly fascinating. When paired with her perfect delivery, there’s something timeless about the way the words snake around the spiking guitars that whirl in tandem with her poetic delivery while the drums drive forward. It feels like a hidden gem you would find on compilation that John Peel had lovingly collated, and is a track that you feel immediately compelled to share with everyone you know so they too can experience the potency of O’Brien’s poetic power.

Change can be a daunting thing and something we can all struggle with, but for O’Brien, it's something that she looks dead in the eye and welcomes with reckless abandon, as she explains: “‘Become fixated on the change... Change must show its face on mine. I am here calling it, needing it. I will not wait any more’. This was written in a notebook a few days before ‘Roman Ruins’”.

Throughout “Roman Ruins”, the message is clear: the only thing that we can rely on is change, and staying still is not an option. O’Brien continues to explain the underlying message of the track, saying: “We become numb to our surroundings - take them for granted. Take a look. The wind comes to offer direction. So many times I must have refused this movement thinking it better to stay still. It is never better to stay still. No. I didn’t stay a moment too long. There were buildings to build there! I am best in motion. Trains are good. People complain about trains a lot. Why do people not complain about standing still? Standing still will kill you. You’ll realise that you’ve become a statue. Look like yourself but static. Part of your city. Yes, you blend in well with your walls (crumbling) and your buildings (bending). These are my roman ruins. I take one last look at the blocks before departing on the plinth I’ve been toying with all my life.”

Produced by Speedy Wunderground’s Dan Carey, “Roman Ruins” marks the way for what will be no doubt be an intriguing first body of work from the Limerick-born artist, with more details on what O’Brien has planned coming soon.