Steve O'Donoghue - Martha

Listening to this CD makes me feel like I'm checking out the debut solo album from the singer of a band like Travis (though I'm sure a Roddy Frame reference could also work). And while Steve O' Donoghue has been in bands before, none of them have garnered that kind of widespread airplay, so this CD will probably be the first opportunity most people will have to hear his music. For the most part the songs on this album have a stripped down British pop/rock sound that befits the singer/songwriter description. Strummed and plucked acoustic guitar dominant the songs and the vocals are delivered in a soft, personal, retrospective manner. While the music holds its own, it also tends to get a little lost in the background. When listening closely, the lyrics become the focus and I found lines like "she's not coming back, and that's a fact" to be a bit lacking. To his credit though,'Johnnie Walker'', the song , which uses that line has a nice chorus that makes it one of the better songs on the album. In fact, most of the songs have a strong chorus and it's just the connecting verses that sometimes fall flat. The standout track on the CD is 'Come Out of the Rain'. This song gets the most rocking and the vocals carry more emotion too. This one has the kind of chorus that you find yourself singing aloud as you listen and it's the song that really makes me feel like Steve O'Donoghue could have fronted a more well known band that packed electric guitars and a bigger sound. I think had I already heard a couple of albums worth of material from that "band" then this "solo" album would have a strong foundation and a sense of context. Standing on its own though, I feel like something's missing. Since it's a sense of familiarity and context that I seem to be missing when listening to this album, I could see this album growing on me over time. The guitar playing is quite pleasant , the vocals are easy on the ears, and the choruses are able to carry the songs through the rough patches. Not having heard any of O'Donoghue's earlier work it's hard to know how he's progressed as a singer/songwriter, but this CD leaves me wanting to see if he can fill out the songs a bit more and become an even better lyricist. And that's more than I can say about the debut solo albums of many better known artists.

Track Listing:-

1 Don't Give Up The Ghost
2 Come Out Of The Rain
3 Johnnie Walker
4 Turned Twenty-one (And Bust)
5 Stranded
6 Text Book Hippy
7 Catherdal Bells
8 Snow White
9 England's Glory
10 Glass House

Label Links:-

http://www.firestation-records.de/
https://www.facebook.com/firestationre
https://www.youtube.com/user/Firestati

Visitor Comments:-

20 Posted By: Todkelly@hotmail.com, Leeds. England on 01 Jan 1900

Every so often I like to kick back, stick on the headphones and listen to some intelligent, articulate pop music.Martha is one such album.Scattered with celebration, loss, cruelty and shades of happiness, it is a journey but a rewarding one. The great thing about this record is it's ambiguous sexualy.Although Steve O'Donoghue is male, many of his songs seem to take on a female persona.Snow White is one such song, tired with the daily routine of abuse her husband gives her this Snow White finds solace in washing her hair in the safty of her own company. The song it's self sounds like it could have been written by the Beautiful South and there are comparisons to made all through this album.Steve definately wears his heart on his sleeve both lyrically and musically. There are shades of Roddy Frame,Paddy Macaloon,John Lennon to name a few but hey.if you're going to be compared.The beautiful "Johnnie Walker" had echoes of The Beatles Strawberry Fields.The lyrics to this song are so bittersweet you cant help but feel gutted for the singer.Everyone has gone through, or will go through a Johnnie Walker and this is as close as it gets. An almost pathetic attempt to keep the flicker of an old flame burning.When we are so blinded by love,it's hard to see our actions as unrational. Buy this album, it's a little mini soap/novel that will really draw you in.Steve's writing is up there with Anthony Burgess, Graham Greene, Morrissey, Virginia Woolfe. Ten superb songs of life, love, bastards and angels. Most songs are recorded with a band but there are three acoustic numbers, one of which is the brilliant "Turned Twenty-one" which has simply, the best opening lines I have ever heard in a song "Cursed with half the Midas touch, why I don't know All the girls I choose to touch, they all turn to go"- it's genius. A great acoustic felt underachieving pop classic filed next to Aztec Camera Tod Kelly

19 Posted By: Mark Searle, Hull on 01 Jan 1900

Before I launch in to this, I think it is fair to say that this album isn't breaking any new ground.However, what you get is clever and polished. It's a strange collection of songs, based largely around an acoustic guitar sound.Think of Ocean Colour Scene or Crowded House. Lyrically the album is very stong if not slightly sorry for itself.Don't get me wrong, this isn't bedsit blues, boy meets girl, boy loses girl territory-far from it.But the reflection can sometimes become a little personal/weary. My favourite song is just a guitar/vocal track called Cathedral Bells.A song about a girl smiling through her tears.The guitar work is gorgeous on this track as is the melody. I also like Text Book Hippy, a song about a phoney-it's all swirling Hammond and jangly guitar. I'm glad that you get a lyric booklet with this album because, to be honest, it deserves nothing less.Just sit there and read the words.It's almost enough in itself People may coin this album depressing, but it's darker, wittier and so much more interesting than that. If musically it breaks no new ground, lyrically it covers subjects as though they've never been covered before. Glass Houses- is a fantastic song to close the album with. A song about relationship breakdown, but wow, what a brilliant piece of writing. I hope that this album gets the wide audience it deserves.If you are a lover of good acoustic songs with quality playing and writing, then buy this please. You will not be dissapointed

18 Posted By: Chris White, London on 01 Jan 1900

Is there any room in the world for this record? Maybe I'm being a bit unfair, but with Paul Heaton and Dave Rotherway of the South both releasing solo efforts, along comes Steve O'Donoghue's Martha. It's not a bad record at all.Infact the Beautiful South would probably be glad of one or two of these self penned songs. It could be worse-Steve's from Manchester- it could so easily have been an Oasis patiche!Heaven knows we'd be misserable then. Stand out tracks Glass House, Johnnie Walker, England's Glory and Don't Give Up The Ghost