Time Bend And Break The Bower

Communing at the triangulation of words, music and image, O'Brien has always conjured powerful worlds: but none more powerful, or as immersive, than on her debut record. In the space that exists between her delivery - at once wry, silky, vicious, and self-assured - and the music - a dynamic, dancing call-and-response from her collaborators, guitarist Julian Hanson and drummer Oscar Robertson - lies a productive tension. Using a method of creating on-instinct, in constant communication with multisensory cues, O'Brien is carving out a space as a musical oracle for an ever-shifting era. The 11-track album was produced by indie super-producer Dan Carey (Fontaines DC, Squid, Black Midi, Kae Temptest, Bat For Lashes, Hot Chip, Franz Ferdinand) and recorded in his south London studio Mr Dan's in late 2021. Since 2020, O'Brien has garnered international critical acclaim from titles like Rolling Stone, DIY, Dazed, Dork, Loud & Quiet, NME, Paste, Stereogum, The FADER, The Guardian, The Quietus, and AnOther Magazine, among others. O'Brien has also been consistently supported on national radio: she counts Jack Saunders at BBC Radio 1, and Steve Lamacq and Amy Lamé at BBC Radio 6 Music as champions of her music, with the latter station giving two tracks a spot on their B List. And O'Brien is building on her US support from the likes of Seattle's KEXP alongside appearances at SXSW - in virtual form in 2021, and live with her band in Texas later this spring.