Ready Is Always Too Late comes at the perfect time for Sinead Harnett

It’s been a couple of years since Harnett’s debut Lessons In Love, and the somewhat radio-silence has done her well to let her listeners breathe, reflect, and prepare for the reintroduction she has created with her new project. The album is a collection of empowering messages and vulnerable moments from the songwriter, and this varied selection of emotions does the album well. There's not a single moment where the mood feels out of place – it’s carefully curated and perfectly placed at all times.

With a career boasting endless collaborations with high-profile producers such as Disclosure, Kaytranada and Rudimental, it’s unsurprising that Ready Is Always Too Late includes similarly notable features. Appearances from EARTHGANG, Masego, VanJess and the rising-star Lucky Daye create a star-studded appeal to the album - but it’s on the tracks where Harnett is alone that she really shines. The title and opening track “Ready Is Always Too Late” is both lyrically and melodically outstanding - showcasing an expert level of songwriting from Harnett - and then the vocal mastery on “Last Love” really puts the icing on the already superbly baked cake.

Naturally, any form of surprise would've been welcomed. Whilst Ready Is Always Too Late shows that Harnett has mastered her artform and solidified herself in the R&B landscape, what it fails to showcase is a divergence from the well-trodden path of the genre. Ticking the boxes for ballads, interludes, belters, and duets - it almost feels a little too predictable. It’s a shame that the creative and genre-bending songs that she so often features on didn’t make it into this project, as this is where the full extent of her ingenuity gets to stretch its legs.

Nevertheless, Sinead Harnett has risen to the challenge and surpassed the bar she set for herself with her previous work. Ready Is Always Too Late is a defining album for Harnett, and displays the incredible talent, skill, and experience that she has built over the years. Evidently rising on an exponential curve, one can only imagine the heights she is going to reach.