Message from the Artist
Martina: “I’m doing these playlists because I love it … for those who appreciate it.”
https://open.spotify.com/user/m0o63p2xyamfpkw2xg4mw26nc?si=304a337559164478
Martina Playlist 01-03-26
Select Song Reviews
By Dee, Unsigned Reviews
Lockdown 2, Peter and Ella
The short slinky intro defines the tracks this tune runs on. Clear vocals on a bed of guitar song gravel; straight ahead, shoveling rocks, rolling on to the next verse. Nicely locked in simple rhythm rounds this tune out. A sweet, classic rock vibe.
Broken Hearts, Papa Satch and Company
Harmonies and newer country cadences; nice segues into each section of the song, taking us through the whole story. A great layering job in this production. Plus, up front vocals matching every beat and click. Well placed lyrics in the bridge bring more context to the story and make it easy to listen to the end. A broken heart, but with lots of love.
Last Straw, Elseebub
Traditional beginnings and 21c meanderings toward the usual conclusions. Toe-tapping. This sounds like fun music for kids but with an adult story line that realigns our wits. Super imaginative instrumental dialogue. Along the lines of Flaming Lips and Courtney Barnett.
Wild Wind, Nigel Philips
The contrasts in this song come from every direction, in a cohesive throng. The best mix for this folk, country, alt, indie rock music. The lyrics are very Rock. My first thought is an album called Rough Mix with Ronnie Lane and Pete Townshend. Wild Wind is a serious exercise in conjuring up traditional feels, soon to be actions, set to a descending story line from public into private reflection and narrative.
Psychic Hop Interstellar Bop, Lenny Wiles Lionstar
Vocal effects make the artificial world a better place to live. Slick melodies with tweaked instruments and the perfected ending say: soundtrack in a movie. The swimmer climbs the tall diving platform, flexes her vision, stretches her toes over the edge, cap centered, hands outstretched. The song ends. She falls off the cliff…
Knight Riders, Ellertsson
There should be more air time made available for the Night Riders and the horses they rode in on. Taking the setting from the old west, Sam Peckinpaw and early Pete Seeger, Ellertsson sets the mood and updates the mysteries of traveling at night. Some great whistling and perhaps the ‘Strings’ patch used to dramatic effect. Some cool reproduction of particular phrases from the country-western, folk hero music era, captured handsomely in this song. A great tune all ’round.
Dance the World Away, Jambrains
This is comfort rock. The song delivers on its title and the feeling is up-groove. Each track builds and layers its way up, step like, into chorus and verse and back down again for the breaks. Agony is a hard concept to swallow within the puffy surroundings of this melody, but ok, I get it. Name the issue. Provide the solution. Dancing certainly wills the world away and now is a good time to do that.
Harlem – Radio Edit, Rob G. Nichols *
Had to start this song over to enjoy the imaginative and clear flows from intro to section to section. Musical dialogue merging with contextual inputs like conversation and hardware interference are expertly positioned to fade as a Saxophone enters the room or a drum fill introduces the next movement. The multiple melodies twinning and twining, repeating and converging on the slow build is cinematic. Deft timing. Ending in conversation is fully appropriate a la Pink Floyd.
