Martin Carr – Ye Gods (and little fishes)

June 22, 2009

According to first track of this debut album under real name Martin Carr, Martin was born in the ‘Dead of Winter’. This birth was probably accompanied by a band with country leanings intent on recapturing the spirit of ’90s hit-makers The Boo Radleys (of which Martin was the lead songwriter). Though filled with vocal harmonies sweeter than a Krispy Kreme, the pumping crescendo topped off with horns and juxtaposed by discordant electric guitars is an attractive beginning and one that should sustain through much of the record with Martin’s determined pop balladeering setting the pace throughout; but this is not always the case.

Possibly recorded on a limited budget, the production can waver from heady to clumsy. Vocal harmonies are layered thick and exact on ‘Goldrush ’49′ climaxing with dense distorted guitars and a memorable chorus, yet on subsequent ‘Orpheus Lament’ the strong vocal lines are allowed to quiver distracting from their ultimate target. Employing a reverb effect similar to one that John Lennon would have used, ‘Running’ also manages to squeeze in a Kinks styled chromatic run-down with ghoulish feedback howls adding texture to the song.

It is at moments like this when Martin is at his best – fiddling around in the background, noodling – playing. ‘Tired and broke and black and blue’ is a great example of this: driven by an arpeggiated acoustic guitar, its instrumental outro includes an especially well-placed seventh chord giving the song a necessary blues tinge while sliding and bent notes float in stereo space during the verse.

Ultimately this boisterous album is not so mottled by mediocrity as it is elevated by a musing individual attempting to return to a popular music mountain he has already conquered. Look out for the forthcoming release of electronic side project The Black Serpent Choir.

(3/5)Ye Gods (and little fishes) is out on July 13th (Sonny Boy Records)