Music: Martin Rossiter
Jeff Hemmings welcomes the return of a musical great
Very good things come to those who wait: after an eight year sabbatical from the music industry, Martin Rossiter has returned with a lyrically raw set of torch songs to mend and break hearts, The Defenestration Of St. Martin.
Defenestration means to throw someone or something out of a window. And as this is his first full-length recording since the demise of Gene in 2004 (who accumulated 10 top 40 hits), perhaps it’s a reference to finally throwing out the baggage accumulated with that often misunderstood band, despite their brief period in the limelight. With this solo work, Rossiter is even more open and sincere; a gut-wrenching display that features only the voice of Rossiter and piano.
And which apparently had the working title of ‘Songs To Make Grown Men Cry’. Not that this is a million miles away from the work of Gene, who were powered by his eloquent and emotive voice, that often spoke of depair and quiet desperation. Despite that, they achieved much fame in the mid-late ‘90s, with a string of hits including ‘For The Dead’, ‘Be My Light Be My Guide’, ‘Sleep Well Tonight’, ‘Olympian’, ‘Fighting Fit ‘and ‘Where Are They Now?’.
Gene were awarded Best New Act by the NME, played a sell-out show at the Royal Albert Hall and in Rossiter, possessed a minor celebrity. However, the world of indie is fickle and taking a year out is not always the best game plan. That is exactly what they did and when they returned the momentum had withered, they ere dropped by their label Polydor, and by late 2004 they decided to call it a day.
Brought up on the melodies of Charles Wesley and the gritty glamour of Shirley Bassey, the album features tender meditations on life, and some black humour, such as on ‘I Must Be Jesus’ with its refrain: ‘I must be Jesus/There’s no other explanation for this thing/I’ve been put on Earth to suffer for no reason’. But despite the bleakness peppered throughout, this is all about getting it out there, expunging and exfoliating demons that he is attempting to lay to rest.
And with those uplifting choruses and strong melodies there’s no doubt he’s succeeding if only because so much effort has gone into this record, a lot of acre and attention, that has been rewarded by almost universally good reviews. The man himself says about his brighton homecoming gig: “This is the one event in Brighton on a Friday night where there is a money back guarantee if a hen night turns up…” Good to see him back!
Martin Rossiter, Dome Studio, Brighton Dome, Friday 14 June, 7.30pm, £14
