Renowned for her ethereal and meditative song writing Polly Barrett is set to release her first single of 2024 with ‘Sparrow’ on February 23, 2024.
Like its namesake, ‘Sparrow’, has a lightness of touch and is imbued with an innate rhythm reminiscent of a Sparrow’s flight. Meditative in nature the single features mandolin, cello, and tongue drum with a soft bodhrán gently moving the single along. This is the fourth single off her critically acclaimed third album Sapling be…and displays Polly’s love for traditional Irish music. ‘Sparrow’ will speak to those who have felt meaning in those small encounters with nature. To the buried wild spirit inside the modern human who yearns to reconnect with the wilderness.
With two studio albums to her credit West Cork songwriter Polly Barrett is no stranger to the creative process of writing and recording albums. However, it took the birth of her son and her rebirth as an artist for Polly to find her authentic truth. Recorded in her home in West Cork Sapling be… is fully dedicated to her son who came up with the name itself as he strummed the guitar as a toddler. Saturated in Polly’s new home life the record is imbued with her struggles as writer’s block got its angry claws into her and the ethereal, meditative peace she found and made for herself in West Cork as she navigates the path of motherhood. Initially used as a tool for meditation, the tongue drum found a place in Polly’s song writing opening her up to fully embody the music. Ethereal and rhythmic Polly plays most of the instruments on this album which include acoustic guitar, tongue drum, bodhrán, tin whistle, low whistle, bass guitar and piano.
Recent singles ‘Huge Mistake’ and ‘Sapling Be’ introduced fans to Polly’s journey through motherhood. Of ‘Sapling Be’ Polly says “The song is like a wish for my son that he grows strong and tall like a great oak tree, and with his roots firmly in the ground. That he never forgets his connection to nature.” ‘Huge Mistake’ is an ode to finding beauty and one’s peace in an unexpected place. Both singles saw Polly earn support from RTE Radio 1’s Louise Duffy, Today FM/98FM’s Claire Beck, Lyric FM’s Marty Whelan, Dublin City FM’s John Barker and Newstalk’s Sean Moncrieff. Sapling be… was mixed by Grammy-nominated producer Chris O’Brien (Clannad, Aslan, and Emma Langford) and mastered by Richard Dowling at WAV Mastering, Limerick.
Polly Barrett is a well-known name on the Irish folk scene. After releasing 2 albums, 2011’s Mr Bookshop and Probably Me in 2014 she took a break from music to focus on family. During the Covid-19 pandemic Polly quietly recorded and released “Dark Garden”, an EP of four new songs, one of which, ‘Thinking About You’ was chosen for a Discover Ireland Campaign for West Cork. Polly performed an Official Showcase at Folk Alliance in the US in 2022 and performed at Milwaukee Irish Fest in the US alongside the Coronas, Wallis Bird and a host of other Irish acts.
