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Review: 'SIDINE, CIARA'
'Unbroken Line'   

-  Label: 'Self Released'
-  Genre: 'Folk' -  Release Date: '6th October 2017'

Our Rating:
Rebel music comes in many forms and this Dublin singer songwriter's fine second album illustrates how protest can be expressed politely and melodically.

Inevitably this means that the rage and outrage behind some of the songs is less evident but it also shows that the demand for change does not have to be accompanied by power chords and rabid insults.

Ciara Sidine's stated objective is "to find a sustaining connection in difficult times", a process that begins by alerting listeners of injustices that one might otherwise be dismissive of.

The soulful humanity of her music inspired Irish writer Joseph O'Connor - brother of Sinead - to write a poem, 'Sidine Street', which affirms in one line We are here to be better. To know more deeply what we are".

Sidine portrays herself as a Woman Of Constant Sorrow, disturbed primarily by abuses of human rights that have been endorsed and/or inexcusably ignored by the Catholic church.

Finest Flower addresses the plight of those confined in Ireland's mother and baby homes and the singer points an accusing finger at "a sisterhood of fallen dreams landed in a godless place".

Trouble Come Find Me calls for reproductive rights of women while in Let The Rain Fall Sidine sings out against abuses of young children.

The lively gospel-influenced Wooden Bridge is a sign that she does not pin the blame on God but on His earthbound representatives.

Although not all the tracks on the album are protest songs, a sultry mood is a constant.

Tracks like Watching The Dark and River Road almost make isolation and heartbreak sound inviting. Sidine may be influenced by the blues but the bitter pills she swallows invariably come with a saccharine coating.

The songs on this album take us towards some dark places but always with a lightness of touch. This is helped by the lyrical guitar playing of co-producer Conor Brady.

Sidine sings on the title track of "trying to keep my gaze steady, searching for that unbroken line". The emphasis throughout is on finding a sense of balance and glimmers of hope. So gently persuasive is she that most will be happy to join her in this quest.



Ciara Sidine's website
  author: Martin Raybould

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SIDINE, CIARA - Unbroken Line