Bren Holmes (ex-Young Dubliners) second solo album A Rush To The Start Line will be out on CD February 6th. Having a chance to hear it already, it’s slightly different than his first solo album but still very good! His first single “Ordinary World (for Sinéad)” is a tribute to the late Sinead O’Connor.

Bren commented about Sinead and the song:

I didn’t set out to write a song about her. 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.

I wanted a dark, fast song that I thought could pay homage to her in some way. 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.

I had met her briefly backstage at a Waterboys concert in Los Angeles in the late ‘90s. She bummed a cigarette from me.

Filled with indie rock anthems, ballads and alt-pop bangers, A Rush To The Start Line finds the songwriter moving away from the Irish rock/Americana genre that he occupied for the last 25 years. “With this album I felt like I was getting back to writing songs in a style that I had grown up with in Europe,” he says. “I just wanted to play songs that came naturally to me and not having to worry about any particular genre. I had only played Irish music when I came to the States in the early ‘90s, but before that, I listened to punk, ska, pop, metal… I’ve always been a fan of a good hook.” Returning to his varied roots was energizing for him. “Since my debut three years ago, I’ve hopefully grown and matured into a better singer/songwriter. I believe I’ve delivered a better sounding album overall.”

With hooks aplenty and a tight grip on melody, A Rush To The Start Line is a masterclass in musical artistry. From the upbeat pop of “Don’t Say You Will” (“a simple breakup song that has a happy vibe but carries a heartbreaking story”), to the syncopated pop of “Shine” (“a lil’ love song about how someone can change your life in an instant”), to the breezy indie ballad of “This One” (“about the current state of the world and all its woes…hoping that peace and love will prevail over everything in the end”), to the festive album closer “Song for Christmas” (“a story about a soldier who’s stationed abroad and is missing his loved one during the holidays”), the album showcases Bren’s innate ability of being a master of storytelling. A chiming pop song in the vein of Crowded House or Billy Bragg, the anthemic “Gloria” is a heart-wrenching tale of a runaway teen whose biological family is pleading for her safety from an abusive foster situation. “It’s a message that needs to be heard,” he explains. “I think it was just one of those songs that came onto my lap from above (or elsewhere) and it just wrote itself in a day or so!”

For thirty-plus years, Bren Holmes has been playing his craft as a musician, songwriter, and bandmate. As an original member of the Irish rock band The Young Dubliners, this Los Angeles-by-way-of-Dublin Ireland band has gigged all over the world–and lived to tell about it. Deciding to part ways with the band in 2019, Bren pursued a solo career and released his solo debut, Everything You Never Wanted in 2021 with special guests including Brett Anderson (The Donnas), Cindy Wasserman (Dead Rock West), Jayson Sites (Half Pint Jones), Dave Raven (Keith Richards, Nellie McKay, John Doe) and Rachel Grace (Foo Fighters, Usher, Annie Lennox).

Bren Holmes’ second album A Rush To The Start Line features bassist Paul Bushnell (Tim McGraw), Ward Poulos (Elektolab), Ben Thomas (Dweezil Zappa), Victor Varadi (Crosscutter), Bob Boulding (The Young Dubliners), Maggie McCabe (Maggie’s Farm), Tim Boland (The Black Watch), Mike Finn (The Unforgiven), Jesse Olema (Dwight Yoakam, Post Malone), Nikki Christie, and Mary Morales. It was co-produced by Bren Holmes and Bryan Dobbs and will be released independently on CD on February 6, 2026.

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