Sinead O'Connor
Gospel Oak EP
[Chrysalis]
Rating: 2.2
Sinead O'Connor once stood as the very definition of "strong woman."
Known for her brilliant melodies and wonderful, spiteful lyrics, she
was shocking, political and powerful. What happened?
1995's Universal Mother completed a gradual 360 degree
turnaround in her behavior. The album was the complete antithesis
of her previous work. Aside from "Fire on Babylon", it was sickeningly
passive and diseased by boring music.
Gospel Oak one-ups Universal Mother in both positive and
negative ways. On the positive side, the melodies on the record are
clearly more thought-out. No more endless, repetitive, acoustic drone.
Unfortunately, it's still more passive than Mother, with
lyrics straight out of support group sessions. ("I am enough for myself /
I don't need anything else.") Now a seemingly untalented artist, O'Connor
shows only wounds healed by therapy and no sign of battle scars.
-Ryan Schreiber