Stromata

Charlotte Martin - Stromata

For those of you not acquainted with Charlotte Martin, I highly recommend you start listening to her stuff. She is not your typical artist that you hear on the airwaves. Her previous official album release On Your Shore has been a favorite album of mine for a while, and I've eaten up her intermediate EP releases on the way.

This album marks a departure, as it is more rhythmic whereas her last album was very melodic. A risky move as albums of that nature tend to fall flat after the first song or two. I can happily tell you this is not the case here.

The album never bores you or gets trapped in one sound, at time you don't feel like you are listening to a pop album as you are a piece of art. An additional note, the mixing on this is superb, those of you with good sound systems will get a extra bonus as the songs sound incredible on a good system.

The songs:
Stromata - The opening defines the album very well, there multiple rhythms and harmonies intertwining here giving the impression of chaos, yet holds together very well.
Rating: 4

Cut The Cord - Continuing with the rhythmic theme, this percussive piece has a Stomp feel to it with the drums. Minimal instrumentation, mostly drums and voice, but it works very well.
Rating: 4

Drip - Very appropriately named as the piano and synth create a very fluid watery sound. Like the music the vocals just continuously flow through the versus until it hits the chorus. You might have problems singing along, but you'll definitely enjoy the listen.
Rating: 4

Little Universe - A quick rhythm chant piece, very minimalist.
Rating: 3

Civilized - High tempo, angry sounding track. Heavy piano driving the beat. Very metered vocals.
Rating: 3

A Hopeless Attempt - The toy piano sound gives a innocent, yet sorrowful sound to this track. A sweet, beautiful piece.
Rating: 3

Four Walls - This actually appeared first on her Veins EP. Very driving rhythm that catches you and keeps hold for the whole song. Expect to hear this one on the radio at some point in time. My son likes to dance to this song :)
Rating: 4

Inch - Leaves the rhythmic pieces for a flowing, reflective, melodic piece. Fans of her first album will feel right at home with this one.
Rating: 3

Keep Me In Your Pocket - Snappy piece with dueling vocals and plucky piano which has a nice charming effect.
Rating: 3

Pills - Fun little novelty piece about......Pills. Mostly piano with other instrumental effects at times.
Rating: 3

Just Before Dawn - A surprising operatic track, this acts as kind of a palette cleanser before hitting the bottom of the record. You probably won't listen to this song on its own, but as part of the album it does its job very well. You can be impressed with how well she sings this.
Rating: 3

Cardboard Ladders - A completely melodic piece that has a haunting, echoing feel to it. Its just simply beautiful. The last 2 1/2 mins will really hit you.
Rating: 5

The Dance - The culmination of the rhythmic feel of this whole album. Full of imagery with a simple yet perfectly crafted melody with builds up to a great climax.
Rating: 5

Redeemed - If you need to expose Charlotte Martin to someone, this is the song to use. It perfectly blends the rhythmic & melodic areas of past in present into a beautiful piece that has an incredibly full sound even though there are a minimum of instruments. The vocals & backing on this piece are perfect. If I could improve one place, it would be adding more of an explosion in the drums in the bridge section. But otherwise, this is almost the perfect song.
Rating: 5

Though some people might read this review and cherry pick the 5's from iTunes, I HIGHLY recommend buying the whole album. Its pieced together so well that it deserves to be listened to as a whole. Everything just builds up to the ending 3 songs that wrap up the album so perfectly. Buy this album today, and make sure to pick up copies for your friends.

Album Rating: 4