Damian finds a new favourite….
Martyn Crocker hails from the coastal port of Plymouth, Devon and is an acoustic, rock, alternative rock Singer/Songwriter.
`Favouritism` is the follow up to his very well received debut album `Honesty and Ambition`
The songwriter recorded the tracks by supplying guitars and vocals, with Ant Thornton (of the successful band Black Foxxes) on all live drums and producer Josiah J Manning adding additional instruments.
`Abacus` kicks us off and what a cracker it is. The song begins with a strummed acoustic guitar before building up with a wonderful bass line and thumping drums. The theme relates to a relationship breakup and I must admit the line ”Things aren’t adding up, I must hand out the abacus, calculate yourself” kept going round in my head all day.
Again another refrain about a lost love and the hurt caused is shared with `Out Of The Dark` and although you can almost hear the pain and anguish in Martyn`s voice, the song is very uplifting and gets across a positive message about coming to terms with the situation and being able to look back and move on.
Haunting guitar chords and a remote slightly distant vocal introduce us to `Wishful Thinking` which then turns into a superb melodic rock work out and I was reminded of the best of bands like Asia and Yes.This is a song that is made for sharing with an audience;
`The Places` is a narrative about the dangers of growing up in a small town and the pressures to get involved in the wrong type of things to kill time, but also how you get through it and can look back on it as a sort of rite of passage. The upbeat music really flushes it out as the storyline moves along to a reflection back on youth.
Strummed acoustic guitar and some Intricate guitar picking lay the foundation for this inspiring tale of optimism with `Hope` This stripped back tune really highlights the West Country inflections in this guy’s breathtaking voice.
`If Only He Knew` is a slight change of direction, an eerie tabla type drumbeat / pulse with guitar licks floating in and out and Martyn`s voice layered on top. I felt it worked really well.
The penultimate track `Stick Around For Good` is the longest offering on this release and so much the better for it. It has clever breaks during the song which only made you want to head back into the main stream of the tune. It is so well structured and we get a bit of a rock out towards the end with the guitar and bass almost competing against each other and being refereed by the drums!!
The closing piece, `Hold Your Hand` is a great way to round off this release. A commitment of love to a long term lover which has Martyn`s tender vocals supported by just an acoustic guitar before building to a crescendo with a twinkling piano. I defy anybody to not be moved by the sentiment in the shared lyrics.
This album covered a lot of emotions such as love, joy, tenderness, sadness, optimism but was really uplifting and inspiring. There are some really intelligent, thought provoking lyrics that are shared over some great musicianship
Maybe as the title of the release suggests, there is a bit of favouritism but I certainly was blown away by this recording.
Rating 9 /10
