Martin Carr
The Breaks
Release Date: Sep 30, 2014
Genre(s): Pop/Rock, Alternative/Indie Rock, Indie Rock, Indie Pop
Record label: Tapete Records
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Album Review: The Breaks by Martin Carr
Very Good, Based on 3 Critics
Based on rating 8/10
When the Boo Radleys crashed and burned in the late '90s, Martin Carr didn't stop writing and recording music. He came right back with the adventurous Brave Captain and kept releasing songs and albums right up until 2012, when he switched over to using his name instead. The first album to come out this way is 2014's The Breaks, and it's a good one. Where Carr sometimes strayed far from his strengths as a guitar pop craftsman to indulge in electronic dabblings and folky meanderings, here he mostly sticks to songs that would have fit right in with the Boos at the top of their game.
Based on rating 7/10
Martin Carr knows his pop onions, that’s for sure. Across nearly 20 albums as both lead Boo Radley and a solo performer he’s done the lot, been wilfully commercial, wilfully noncommercial, retro, futuristic, introvert, extrovert and everything between. While much of his catalogue has felt deliberately undercooked or lo-fi, particularly in his Bravecaptain guise, he’s always been a true student of the pop chorus, schooled in vintage soul, new wave and The Beatles.
Based on rating 6/10
“A theme running through my work is not fitting in,” admits singer/songwriter Martin Carr. It’s odd that he feels that way because during a few moments in his career, Carr fit right in with his surroundings just fine. There’s a song on his new album named “Mainstream”, for crying out loud. When his old band the Boo Radleys were shifting gears from shoegaze to Britpop, the rest of the UK seemed to be doing the same thing.
'The Breaks'
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