The hell with old blue eyes, the guy that does it his way is Martin Newell. Under his moniker The Cleaners From Venus, he has shared 16 tracks of psychedelic pop and lo-fi music hall style songs on his new album, Rose of the Lanes. His songs massage your ear, delight your brain and soften your heart. Martin is a writer and poet, and his literary talents are well-showcased in his unfussy and concise compositions. As a performer, the man's vocals have lost none of their emotive charge and nuance. The vibe is "English", in the same way that such description brings to mind such worthies as Robyn Hitchcock or Peter Astor. But the delivery is varied, with buzzing indie rock such as "Little French Blue", the jangle pop of ""Isn't She The Biz" and "Billy Liar", the acid folk of "Ministry of Light", the rocking sing-along stomper "Third Summer of Love", the bright and wistful pop of "Liverpool Judy", and the music hall pop of "Lazy Elaine" and "Tatterdemalion". Rose of the Lanes is a true renaissance man project, as Martin recorded the album, playing all the instruments, on a Transcam with Audacity freeware.
Every time I listen to this album, I discover additional details that give me pleasure. Rose of the Lanes is an album to treasure. You can test it out with a few tracks below, and you can stream the entire album at the Bandcamp link below. The album is out now via Soft Bodies Records.
For those unfamiliar with Newell, he started his music career in the early '70s, and has been involved in multiple projects including Cleaners From Venus, which he formed in the '80s. He is a active writer of prose and poetry.
Digital and CDR formats of Rose of the Lanes are available at the Bandcamp link below, as well as various digital outlets.
Martin Newell's webpage
Bandcamp for Rose of the Lanes
Soft Bodies Records
1 comment:
It is a damfine album, but I can't help but rate it just a notch below Return to Bohemia and English Electric...perhaps because it just isn't so bloody filled with surprises?
Post a Comment