Reviewed by Ian Phillips.
By Martha Marlow, SGC Media 2021.
This album is my introduction to Martha Marlow who is a prodigiously talented singer/songwriter/artist from Sydney.
Martha grew up in a family of musicians in Sydney’s Eastern suburbs and initially forged her artistic career as a painter before also branching out as a singer/songwriter.
She credits Billie Holiday, the Beatles, and Australian artists such as Julia Jacklin and Gurrumul as her influences as well as her parents record collection.
She spent five years writing the songs for this 13-track debut and they are a beautifully crafted set of original compositions.
The production is rich with strings and lush sounds reminiscent of a bygone era and the backing band contains some very impressive musicians.
Martha’s lyrics contain a sophistication that belies her years.
The depth conveyed in Martha’s songs comes from a lifetime of pain but the songs themselves are positive.
Martha suffers from a rare auto-immune disease that manifests itself in painful and swollen joints which forced her to halt her studies at the National Art School and stop using oil paints.
The pain was so bad that she was hospitalised for periods of time, and of course playing the guitar was out of the question.
However, she could read and listen to music and out of this came the inspiration to write and record this delightful album.
Martha co-produced the album with her father Jonathon, a master bass player, who wrote the string arrangements and led the band which was comprised of some of Australia’s best musicians including Jonathon on bass, drummer Hamish Stuart, pianist Barney McAll, guitarist Ben Hauptmann and violinist Veronique Serrit.
So out of a time of despair has grown a flower of renewal, hope and transformation in the guise of the aptly titled Medicine Man.
Martha has a remarkable back-story and the writing, recording, and production of Medicine Man is testament to her indomitable spirit and impressive talent.
Have a listen to this album, I’m sure you’ll be impressed.
