Sia
We are born
Inertia

It has taken close to six years for this album to be released.

Sia aka Sia Furler had envisaged releasing ‘We Are Born’ as the follow up to her 2004 record ‘Colour the Small One’; however her record company had other ideas.

At the time, the company line was quite simple – the shift in style the record offered would upset the bubbling success the Adelaide-born singer had created.

Since the release of her 2001 debut ‘Healing is Difficult’, Sia had been cast in the mould as the damaged damsel with an angelic voice or less dramatically, a ‘downtempo’ artist.

With the release of her second album, 2004’s ‘Colour the Small One’, Sia’s fate was sealed. Her quiet breathy vocals mixed with acoustic instruments and piano accompaniment was not only mesmerizing but it created a whimsical antidote for the angst-ridden. In short, it had wide appeal.

It was four years before Sia released her 2008 studio album ‘Some People Have Real Problems’.
It ticked all the record label boxes, with Sia doing her best to push outside the boundaries where she could.

However, it wasn’t until the singer split with her US label late last year that she was finally free to release ‘We Are Born’.

Since its release, the album has charted in more than 10 countries across the globe, with the album hitting second place in the Australian charts (to offer a comparison, Sia’s previous album peaked on the local charts in the 41 spot).

Lead-off single and title track ‘We Are Born’ is instantly likeable, with its catchy, dare I say it, upbeat melody.

The single’s anthem chorus of ‘we made it through the darkness to the light/so hard we fought but still we won the fight/yes we stand together’ would not lost on Sia’s previous record label reps who are surely busy still kicking themselves for letting this talent walk.

‘Clap Your Hands’ is simple brilliance. It’s an uncomplicated pop song.

‘Be Good To Me’ is the album’s few slower tracks. It is quite reminiscent of material from Some People Have Real Problems with its tenderness.

‘Never Gonna Leave Me’ is perhaps the most upbeat on the album with mainstream hooks and cute lyrics to turn any pop princess green with envy.

‘Cloud’ is the absolute standout for me. For a rather simple track in terms of lyrics, there are a myriad of layers that just envelop you.

Sia injected new life into Madonna’s 1989 single ‘Oh Father’. It is almost unrecogniseable.

We Are Born is sublime.