Benjamin

(2003, Infinitevolution Records) is a fresh, breezy collection of eleven tracks from this New Hampshire-based singer/songwriter. Martel’s groove-oriented instrumentals, largely acoustic guitar and bass, ably accompany his tenor, which is kept forward in the mix, featuring his pleasing vocals and engaging lyrics. Perhaps most reminiscent of Jack Johnson, Martel often uses a combination of a variation on the rap style (singing only a few notes while delivering lyrics) and sung melodies, switching back and forth between styles easily and seamlessly.

“A Capella Groove”, featuring Martel’s acoustic again, accompanied by light percussion and his multi-tracked vocal harmonies, becomes more complexly layered as it gradually grows on you. Martel’s lyrics, matching the sunny, confessional, un-fussy feel of the disk, draw you into the world of a 19-year-old with his eyes wide open but some real insights already gained: I’m just a fly on the wall/I’m just flying by, please don’t mind/I am larger than life/what’s your name, please explain/cause it’s harder and harder to find a little corner that’s mine/ I’m searching all the time/and getting warmer and warmer/and closer to the sunny side.

With the ballad “Hannah Rose”, Martel leaves the groove behind and gives us an old-fashioned wistful love song. The more rapid-fire lyrical style of most of the other tracks is left behind and more wide-ranging melodies are embraced, allowing Martel’s strong vocals to really shine. The relaxed, swirling ¾ time provides a wonderful contrast to the 4/4 grooves which populate most of the rest of the disk. Martel effortless delivery wraps itself around heartfelt lyrics: love is an unfinished poem/waiting to be written/waiting for you/to come back home. The gorgeous bridge on this track, contrasting in style and incorporating a soaring melody over an artful chord progression, is perhaps a hint of Martel’s writing as it matures further. It’s a device that both pleasantly surprises and engages the listener, and shows a completely different aspect of Martel’s potential as a writer and performer.

You get the sense while listening to Martel that you’ve just walked past a street performer --- the memorable kind that makes you turn back around, have a seat, listen, daydream a little, and end up missing your train or being late for your appointment. The spare instrumentation and straightforward production on this disk really take the listener to that very public but yet somehow intimate performance space that the best buskers create around themselves. There are very few tracks here that couldn’t be performed live by Martel himself, with perhaps the help of a bassist or another acoustic guitarist. In fact, on “Glorified Bum”, it seems that Martel has given that possibility some thought himself: Oh what am I going to be/will I be a professor at some university (no no)/what am I going to become/If I pursue music I know I’m gon’ be some some glorified bum/playing my guitar on the street/that don’t seem so bad to me…After further fanciful rumination on a completely different existence as a door-to-door salesman, Martel concludes with the one thing he knows for sure: It’s plain as day to see…I’m gonna be me.

Elise MacDonald
Instrumentalist, music educator
- Elise MacDonald