Irish artist Sinead O’Brien has released her brand new single ‘GIRLKIND’, out now via Chess Club Records.

The metronomic ‘GIRLKIND’ was produced by Dan Carey and is accompanied by a mesmerising video directed by Saskia Dixie.

“I wanted to create something that responded directly to the form and patterning of Sinéad's track.” explains Saskia. “We have been fascinated with the shape of performative and neutral states of being for a long time and the film for 'Girlkind', I think, gets to the core of this idea."

"The passing of time is a reliable certainty that drives on regardless of what contrasting state you are currently embodying, so this became the base thread for the piece," Dixie adds. "Simple domestic activities swell into loops that feel absurd and almost choreographic in parts of the work. Whilst action and consequence are mapped out visually, time becomes fragmented, as the action takes place in the neutral arena, and the result, a mark or stain, comes through into the performative sphere.”

Reflecting on her new single, Hot for 2020 Irish act Sinéad O'Brien says:

“I am out in the elements/At the mercy of others/Pulled in all directions/I wait endless."

The phenomenon of the moving statues in Ireland during the 1980s becomes a motif.

“When the virgin rocks the statues come to stop”.

These verses are glimpses into experience: Girlkind and Humanhood

"Persevering eternity/Balancing, evaluating/Going back and forth/Keep forging a way through.”

Originally from Limerick, O’Brien’s work captures the everyday and the inbetween in a way that transcends any genre label. Writing from her own observations, O’Brien’s influences can be found in the realism of Mark E. Smith of The Fall and Patti Smith, and the works of literary icons such as Samuel Beckett, W.B Yeats, Flann O’Brien, Joan Didion and Albert Camus.

2020 was a huge breakout year for O’Brien, drawing international critical acclaim. O’Brien was heavily supported by likes of Jack Saunders at BBC Radio 1, and Steve Lamacq at BBC Radio 6 Music. ‘Most Modern Painting’ landing a spot on the 6 Music playlist last year.

A multifaceted artist, O’Brien’s writing has also been published by the esteemed London Magazine - whose alumni include T.S. Eliot, Sylvia Plath and William Burroughs. Her unique fusion of lyric-focused, spoken and sung words are set against the majestic back-up of band members Julian Hanson (guitar) and Oscar Robertson (drums).

Sinéad O'Brien has performed with John Cooper Clarke and The Brian Jonestown Massacre at sold out theatres across the UK; her transfixing performances placing her at the forefront of a resurgent wave of independent Irish talent. Catch her at the Grand Social Dublin on February 22nd, 2022.

Check out the video for 'GIRLKIND' below:

Revisit our 2019 interview with post-punk poet Sinéad O'Brien here.

Sinead O’Brien upcoming live dates:

November 19th - De Nijverheid, Utrecht, Netherlands
December 5th - Trans Musicales, Rennes, France (Ubu)
January 7th-9th - Rockaway Beach Festival, Bognor Regis 2022
January 18th - O2 Academy Brixton, London (IDLES support)
February 22nd - The Grand Social, Dublin, Ireland
June 6th - Primavera In The City, Sidecar, Barcelona, Spain