Her first album, The Lion and the Cobra, was released in 1987 when she was only 20 years old. The record was an international success, earning O’Connor a Grammy nomination. It was named one of the best albums of the 1980s by Slant Magazine and Pitchfork, with Slant calling it “one of the most electrifying debuts in rock history” and Pitchfork praising the album’s “themes of patriotism, sexuality, Catholicism, and social oppression set the stage for a career marked by a resolute sense of independence.”
