Former NME writer and veteran journalist, Gavin Martin, has teamed up with Newcastle indie group VITO on his latest single 'I want to tell you something'.
Martin showcases his flair for writing through a spoken word monologue, discussing how the world and music industry has changed over the span of his lifetime.
The most endearing part of the monologue is: "You kids, you don't know nothing about what really went on. You never heard King Rory sing his cowboy song, you never saw The Clash, or slept on Strummer's floor and you never heard Costello play encore after encore. You see I come from a different era, it's one that's now out of bounds because nowadays there is no Record Mirror, Melody Maker or sounds".
The track is given a surge of energy through VITO's instrumental. They use simple bass lines, peppy drums and catchy guitar riffs to create a steady pulse while Martin speaks, before exploding into a gritty jam in the interludes.
As a whole, it works really well. The danger with using the spoken word rather than conventional melodic lyrics, is that it can easily be very pretentious and dry. But Martin's warm voice coupled with the upbeat backing track, creates something that is very cool and engaging.
The video for the track shows Martin reciting his prose, cutting away to clips of VITO playing on a small stage and cuttings from retro music magazines. The whole video has a sepia filter, which gives it a sense of charming nostalgia.
However the constant rolling of the words across Martin's face is a little distracting and slightly cheapens the overall aesthetic of the video.
It's the intellect and wit behind the words that makes the track so effective and if they removed the gimmicky subtitles, the video would be far more dramatic. I found myself trying to read the subtitles, rather than actually listening to what Martin was saying.
Overall however, it is an unique and evocative track, that is undeniably clever yet very catchy. It's the kind of track that you want to see performed, rather than just shoving it on a playlist. It'll definitely have the greatest impact at the arts tent at a festival or at an intimate gig in trendy bar or café .
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