Bryony Sier has managed to sum up her album in nine words. One for each song on the record. It is some feat considering that her sound has always been hard to pin down. ‘Who Am I’ feels like a natural follow-on to 2020’s ‘Personal Monster’. Themes of identity and mental health persist but there is much more positivity than previous. Perhaps because you sense Sier is rewriting her story.
The title track asks a question that has always been at the heart of her music. One which seems to be verging on an answer as she stands “across the divide”. The break between a trauma-filled past and a freedom-full future in sight. But in true Bryony Sier fashion, she muddies the waters, capturing the complexity of human emotion. The line “words can live on / years after they are said” summing up, rather poignantly, this point.
It is one of a couple of songs on the album that most resembles country-pop. But as ‘Telephone’ demonstrates, she appears to be veering more to the latter end of the spectrum now. This is by far the bounciest number of the nine, its story of connection (or lack thereof) reminiscent of Izzie Walsh’s latest single. Both artists tackle the realities of life as a 20/30-something, Sier’s ‘Brand New’ and ‘Let’s Talk’ further detailing the transition into adulthood. The vulnerability with which she relates her experiences echoes through the lyrics in haunting fashion. For those who have gone through similar, it is comforting, even empowering.
‘Why Do I Matter’ and ‘Platform 8’ represent her attempt to win back the narrative. The former proclaiming agency through beautiful irony whilst the latter is defiant in its unashamedly autobiographical rendering. This is the closest she comes to answering the album’s title, and it is Swiftian in its response. Along with heartbreak and ambition, Bryony Sier touches on a bit of everything to make a record that feels well-rounded but above all forward-looking. Its central message to “keep on holding on”, for nothing lasts forever. “I’m finally seeing in colour”.
You can purchase the album from Bryony’s website here.
Featured Image (C) Bryony Sier
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