(hint: it’s beautiful)

I’ve been fortunate to have worked with many musicians. They teach me all the time. I’ve learned so much while creating with friends. Sometimes our different skillsets fit together like a puzzle. I learn a lot from listening too. I hear sounds, tones, and notes I want to try. I will go down the path of attempting to achieve something like what I’ve heard. What I like about Jeffrey Martin’s “Thank God We Left The Garden” is that It showed me I have a tendency to overthink things. If there’s a good song and a good voice, that’s pretty much all you need. That does not mean it’s easier than I thought it was. It just means it’s simple.

From the opening song, this record is a statement. There’s nothing that screams technical marvel or genius composer. There’s some acoustic, occasionally some ambience, and a voice. The songs themselves inform you of the mind behind them and the emotion they’re after. And that’s it. No tricks, no gimmicks…and I absolutely love it.

The lyrics are imaginative, they sound great as they roll off Martin’s tongue. The words to these songs are worth the attention they’re given being such a prominent aspect in the recording. I could even see it being a disservice to the music with words as good as these covered up by huge orchestration or over mixing. The music isn’t the same without these words in it. Somehow Martin has fused them together the way great songwriters do.

Jeffrey Martin changed my style overnight. Good lyrics, decent melody, nice vocal? check. Worry about all the other stuff later.