Staff Reviews

Martin Rossiter - The Defenestration of St Martin

Review by George Bass

This is a rare and affecting record; the kind of work a rock star can only produce if locked in a room with no cocaine.»

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very good things come to those who wait: after a 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 90's 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.
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