Known for her dreamy, contemplative songwriting, Polly Barrett is set to release her first single of 2024, “Sparrow,” on February 23rd, 2024.
The eponymous track, “Sparrow,” is light in touch and imbued with an innate rhythm reminiscent of the flight of a sparrow. With a meditative nature, the single features mandolin, cello, and tonguing drums, with a soft bodhran gently driving the single. This is the fourth single from her critically acclaimed third album, “Sapling be…,” and showcases Polly’s love for traditional Irish music. “Sparrow” speaks to anyone who has ever found meaning in a small encounter with nature; to the wild spirit buried within modern man who longs to reunite with the wilderness.
With two studio albums under her belt, West Cork songwriter Polly Barrett is no stranger to the creative process of writing and recording an album. However, it was the birth of her son and her artistic rebirth that helped Polly find her true self. Recorded at her West Cork home, “Sapling be…” is dedicated to her son, who came up with the title as a toddler while strumming a guitar. Filled with Polly’s new home life, the record is imbued with her struggles as a writer and the ethereal, meditative peace she found in West Cork as she navigated the path of motherhood. Initially used as a meditative tool, the tonguing drum has taken hold in Polly’s compositions and come to embody the music completely. Ethereal and rhythmic, Polly plays most of the instruments on the album, including acoustic guitar, tonguing drum, bodhran, tin whistle, low whistle, bass guitar and piano.
Recent singles “Huge Mistake” and “Sapling Be” have introduced fans to Polly’s journey as a mother. About “Sapling Be”, Polly says, “The song is like a wish for my son, to grow strong and tall like a great oak tree, firmly rooted in the ground. To never forget my connection to nature.” “Huge Mistake” is an ode to finding beauty and peace in unexpected places. With both singles, Polly has garnered support from Louise Duffy on RTE Radio 1, Claire Beck on Today FM/98FM, Marty Whelan on Lyric FM, John Barker on Dublin City FM and Sean Moncrieff on Newstalk. “Sapling be…” was mixed by Grammy nominated producer Chris O’Brien (Clannad, Aslan, Emma Langford) and mastered by Richard Dowling at WAV Mastering in Limerick.
Polly Barrett is a well-known name in the Irish folk scene. After releasing two albums, Mr Bookshop in 2011 and Probably Me in 2014, she took a break from music to focus on her family. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Polly quietly recorded and released Dark Garden, an EP featuring four new songs, one of which, Thinking About You, was selected for West Cork’s Discover Ireland campaign. Polly had an official showcase at the Folk Alliance in the US in 2022 and appeared at the Milwaukee Irish Fest in the US alongside The Coronas, Wallis Bird and many other Irish artists.
