Martin
Longstaff has been going from strength to strength over the last couple of
years. After a string of successful gigs – including a support slot for Tom
Jones – and a hell of a lot of dedication, the humble young lad from Sunderland
has recently been getting the recognition he deserves.
Rain is an excellent,
heartfelt and beautifully sad single. I remember hearing him play it at The
Sage in Gateshead earlier this year and being really touched by it; Martin
(usually accompanied by some friends) is wonderful to watch live. This song
shows a degree of professionalism which is in my opinion much higher than anything
he has released before, and the addition of the piano (provided by Barry Hyde
of The Futureheads) and strings provide a great level of depth which sends a
shiver down my spine.
What always
manages to impress me with this guy is that the acoustic genre is something
which has been done a lot recently, but he still manages to sound fresh and
original. His incredibly distinctive voice is the thing I like most about his
music.
The B-side to
the single, Edinburgh is not as
strong, in my opinion. I think my issue with it is the fact that it sounds a
bit generic, and I don’t like the sound of the harsh consonants alongside the
long ‘aaa’ sound in the chorus – “in that Edinburgh bar...” – but that’s just
me. It is still a very lovely song that shows off his talent, and I wouldn’t
skip it if it was on a full length album.
Rain by The Lake Poets is out on the 3rd December through
Tiny Lights Recordings.
SH
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