Very good things come to those who wait: after an eight year sabbatical from the music industry, Martin Rossiter returns with a lyrically raw set of torch songs to mend and break hearts.
Martin was, of course, the front man of the 90s most misunderstood and yet beloved groups, Gene. Erroneously dubbed a Brit-Pop band, Gene were in fact outsiders who garnered a passionate following of intelligent and sensitive believers. They disbanded in 2004, having accumulated 10 Top Forty hits and over a million record sales.
Part of the Welsh diaspora, Martin was dragged up on the melodies of Charles Wesley and the gritty glamour of Shirley Bassey. This heritage suffuses Martin's debut, an album of tender meditations on life. Unapologetically recorded using piano and voice, the record is bleak and sweet in equal measure and shares the sonic palette explored by Paul Buchanon on 'Mid Air' or Carole King on 'You've Got a Friend'. Fans of Martin’s previous work will hear the characteristic traits of his art - honesty, melancholy, unexpected humour and a lyrical incisiveness that elevates him above other songwriters.
Lead single 'Drop Anchor' is a metaphor piece that implores a lover to settle down, 'Three Points On A Compass' a knife in the heart of inadequate fathers and 'I Must Be Jesus', a camp, music hall anthem for depressed pre-teens. Martin will be dusting off his Sunday best later in the year for some live shows supporting the record release.
