Sinead Harnett - Boundaries

by Zena Grieg

published: 29 / 10 / 2024

Label: Sinead Haenett
Format: CD

intro

Thought-provoking third album from London singer-songwriter Sinead Hartnett proves an immersive, transformative experience

London R&B singer-songwriter Sinead Harnett has attracted considerable acclaim through her appealing blend of contemporary R&B and pop. Now resident in Los Angeles, where she moved during the pandemic, Harnett has released her third album, 'Boundaries' three years after her last, ‘Ready Is Always Too Late.’ Created over a two-year period, ‘Boundaries’ is a powerful mix of soulful, deeply personal songs, exploring themes around personal growth, resonating against a backdrop of carefully constructed instrumentation. The leitmotif is boundaries and their cathartic impact, as expounded in the spoken-word intro. In Harnett’s words ‘Boundaries’ is “about facing and healing the inner child, letting go of fear, pain and trauma, and honouring the past while simultaneously letting it go”. Songs to listen out for in this sixteen-track collection include: the opening song ‘Shoulder’, a lyrical pep-talk to a younger self: “Love how it feels getting closer/You and me shoulder to shoulder/...Til the end”; the melodic ‘Thinking Less’ with its insinuating beat, bringing Harnett’s expressive vocals to the fore; single ‘Most’ with its cutting line: “…we went from amazing to a maze”; hypnotic, dream-like ‘Spiral’ with its layered instrumentation; the poetic ‘Say Something’: “As light as a feather, faith starts to float/The weight of your absence is far more than gold”; sparse, excoriating, confessional ballad ‘Burn’; ‘Beautiful’ with its uplifting harmonies; the jazzy ‘Downtown’; and the empowering, anthemic ‘No One’ with its exuberant self-assurance: “If I’m being honest, you’re so lucky you had me to start with/This ain’t the time to be modest/It should hurt that you’re losing me/…’Cause no one does it better than me”. Diaristic, with reflective, evocative lyrics and a distinctive, captivating sound, ‘Boundaries’ is an exciting next step for this talented, thoughtful musician.

Track Listing:-

1 Intro
2 Shoulder
3 Thinking Less
4 The Most
5 Unfamiliar
6 Spiral
7 Say Something
8 Boundaries (Interlude)
9 Same Rhymes (Interlude)
10 Burn
11 Beautiful
12 You First
13 Downtown
14 No One
15 I Will
16 Wish You Could See