Bren Holmes (ex-Young Dubliners) – returns with second album… First single Tribute to Sinéad O’Connor

“I didn’t set out to write a song about her,” says Los Angeles-based singer/songwriter Bren Holmes about the origins of his new single “Ordinary World (for Sinéad)” which is taken from his second album A Rush To The Start Line that  will be independently released on CD on February 6, 2026. Written during the Summer of 2023 for the follow-up to his debut album Everything You Never Wanted, the song’s primary narrative was derailed by the untimely and unexpected death of fellow Irish musician Sinéad O’Connor. “The original idea for the song was completely different, but then I received the sad news that she had passed, and something happened inside me that found myself writing about her life. I just felt her story needed to be told through a song.”

Retelling of her struggles dealing with religion and authority throughout her life, “Ordinary World (For Sinéad)” is a propulsive indiepop song that finds Holmes in an introspective mood, singing “A life forsaken / Misunderstood and suffered for your words / I watched you weeping / I sympathized, but never wiped your tears.” “I wanted a dark, fast song that I thought could pay homage to her in some way,” he recalls. “I told my co-producer Bryan Dobbs that I wanted to go for a melancholic vibe like that of The National and he took that cue and helped me turn it into  what we have now with its hard bass and drum foundation.”

ORDINARY WORLD (FOR SINÉAD)
words and music by Bren Holmes

Hypnotize me,
Let me hear the one that calms my soul
Terrifying
Courage from an army made of one
In defiance
Standing up for voices silenced once
I read your writing
Saw it etched upon your brittle wall…

Chorus
There was no place for you in this ordinary world
You were left here just tryin’ to survive
And they tried to silence you for the contents of your mind,
But in the end you’d spoken the truth

A life forsaken
Misunderstood and suffered for your words
I watched you  weeping
I sympathized, but never wiped your  tears

You won’t be silenced even as you sleep eternally
I hope you’re smiling
And finally free of pain that we could feel

Chorus ii
There was no place for you in this ordinary world
You were left here just tryin’ to survive
And they tried to silence you for the contents of your mind
But in the end you’d spoken the truth…

Bridge
What they still hiding x 4

Chorus iii

A RUSH TO THE START LINE
Tracklisting

Gloria
Don’t Say You Will
Ordinary World (For Sinéad)
Need Some Time
Shine
Dreamin’
The Way
Satisfied
This One
Song For Christmas