Description
Ask Wallis Bird what changes shes experienced since 2016s Home, her last album, and shell offer a list. Well, the worlds changed a lot, shell begin, and Ive changed with it. The MeToo movement, Repeal The 8th, marriage equality in Australia, Black Lives Matter, Trump, Brexit, the rise of racism, the death of countless musical icons, the environmental crisis And, shell add, wryly, Im 36 now, so Im officially a woman The answers typical of Bird short but substantial, as serious as it is witty. Shes released five albums since 2007, performing some 800 shows this past decade, but having surrendered a finger to a lawnmower at 18 months old, the Berlinbased Irish musician enjoys a unique perspective. This is reflected in her two Irish Meteor Awards, Irelands annual music prize mostly recently for Best Female Artist and her prestigious 2017 German Musikautorenpreis Music Author Prize, as well as two nominations for the Choice Music Prize, Irelands equivalent to Britains Mercury Prize. More importantly, her response refuses to differentiate between her life and the worlds. This was never more important than on her sixth album, the timely Woman. A daring synthesis of Birds songwriter roots and passion for, among other genres, soul, its eleven songs long but 37 minutes short pointed, powerful, and packed with truths and levity. Most significantly, it insists our lives are inescapably intertwined. This time round, though, Bird knows theres more at stake. At Womans heart lies the concurrent urge to tackle injustice and celebrate the good in human nature, themes demanding immediate attention. I want more empathy in the world around me, she concludes, so Ive started by writing it into my life. I want to fill rooms with these words. I want to hear these sentiments uttered out loud, and for people to get used to hearing themselves say them. Ultimately, I want these words written into their lives.
