aaamusic | On 08, Feb 2011

Having waited half a life time before writing his first song, Martin Allen makes up for lost time with an album rich in lyrics and melody, and strikingly eclectic in its mixture of styles. By trade, a well known litigation lawyer, Martin is certainly not your average debutant, beginning his song-writing career from a well matured outlook. Having first experimented with some tentative writing a few years ago, he quickly developed the taste song writing, in a distinctive style with hints of some of his influences – Cole Porter, Leonard Cohen, Tim Hardin – and a swathe of genres from 60s pop to jazz.

“I want my lyrics to say something; the words to be as sonic as the melodies. And there’s a few things I needed to get off my chest!”. The opening track,‘Disciples of Nero‘, is Martin’s angry blast at politician who fiddle while the world slides into the environmental danger zone, neatly followed by ‘Out of this world‘, a “let’s get out of this place” love song. The sultry backing vocals of Jack Cryer, daughter of comedian Barry Cryer, feature throughout the album adding colour and jazzy flourishes to Martin’s deep crooning voice. In‘Back here’, Martin reveals a strand of melancholy, with a melody of bitter and sweet experiences, sliding into a lilting rock number, ‘Something missing‘, giving voice to the man who appears to have everything, but finds his life empty.

Martin teams up with jazz pianist, Terry Whitney, for ‘Private tune’, a simple, sweet, old fashioned love song, switching back to the melancholic with the gretch driven ‘Dead Simple‘, a tale of lingering sorrow. In perhaps the most distinctive track on the album, ‘Lonely Paradise Waltz‘ is Martin’s reflection on the obtuseness of our species, and a plea for rationality. With ‘Lost of Words’ and ‘The Dance Has Only Begun‘, Martin revels in a gentle mix of sentimentality and melody, before his finale, ‘Boy in the City’, a haunting, gritty plea for the kids adrift on our streets.

May be Providence was smiling when Martin teamed up with world-renowned guitarist, composer and producer, Richard Durrant (The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain, Don Partridge, Jack Cryer), whose exquisite playing and decisive arrangement, brilliantly captures the essence of Martin’s songs, complementing his distinctive vocal style, and making‘Rational Anthem’ a truly remarkable debut album.

Martin Allen- Disciples Of Nero by OliverPR

http://www.martinallen.co
http://www.longman-records.com