Martha (band)

Last updated

Martha
Martha band.jpg
Background information
Origin County Durham, England
Genres
Labels
Members
  • JC Cairns
  • Daniel Ellis
  • Naomi Griffin
  • Nathan Stephens-Griffin
Website martha-punx.com

Martha are a rock band from Pity Me, a village in County Durham in the North East of England. [1] After singles on their own Discount Horse label and Odd Box Records, [2] their debut album Courting Strong, was released on Fortuna Pop! and Salinas Records in 2014. [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] As of 2022 they have released four full-length albums on cult UK and US based independent record labels.

Contents

They have described themselves as queer, vegan and anarchist. [1] They have no designated frontperson and all contribute vocals. [1] Two members of Martha previously founded (and still play in) the band ONSIND, and another lead the band No Ditching. [8] [9] Multiple members of Martha have also played in the group Fortitude Valley. [10]

They have variously cited The Housemartins, Motown, Billy Bragg, The Thermals, Ted Leo, power pop, The Replacements, Heart, The Marked Men, Big Star, Masshysteri, and The Exploding Hearts as influences. [1] [11] [12]

History

Martha formed in the village of Pity Me, a suburb of Durham in the North East of England. Formed by J.C. Cairns (guitar/vocals), Daniel Ellis (guitar/vocals), Naomi Griffin (bass/vocals), and Nathan Stephens-Griffin (drums/vocals) in the early 2010s, they released their self-titled debut EP in February 2012. [13]

They have described themselves as queer, vegan and anarchist. [1] This originally included straightedge, as the band were all sober upon forming, and felt it was a funny thing to include in their description as their sound does not match the usual hardcore of bands that identify that way. The band have said in interviews that they are now no longer all sober. [14]

A year later they released the "Sycamore"/"Lost Without You" single on their own Discount Horse label. The band played Indietracks festival for the first time in 2013. After releasing a split single with American artist Spoonboy (David Combs of The Max Levine Ensemble) Martha headed to the studio with MJ of Hookworms to record their first album. [13]

Courting Strong was released by Fortuna Pop! in the U.K. and Salinas Records in the U.S. They followed it with more split singles with American bands Benny "The Jet" Rodriguez and Radiator Hospital, a repeat visit to Indietracks and an appearance at Glastonbury Festival. [13]

Their next album Blisters in the Pit of My Heart , also produced by MJ, was issued in mid-2016 by Dirtnap Records in the U.S. and Fortuna Pop! once again in the U.K. [13]

They toured the UK with Radiator Hospital [15] in late 2015, and played a tour of the UK and Ireland with Joyce Manor in July 2017. [16]

In mid to late April and early May 2018 they, along with Bad Moves of Washington, D.C., supported Jeff Rosenstock for the Northeastern and Midwestern leg of his US tour.

On 17 April 2018 Martha, filling in last minute for Yo La Tengo, were the guest band on an episode of The Chris Gethard Show on truTV. [17]

On 13 December 2018 the band released single "Heart Is Healing"; announcing they had signed to Big Scary Monsters in the UK and EU and had a new album following soon. [18] On 28 January 2019 the band unveiled title track "Love Keeps Kicking" as a single. [19] The video for which was the second directed for the band by friends Ben Epstein and David Combs of The Max Levine Ensemble. [19] The band's third album, Love Keeps Kicking , was released on 5 April 2019.

On 28 October 2022 the band released their fourth full-length album Please Don't Take Me Back on Specialist Subject Records in the UK and Dirtnap Records in the US. It was their first album to be released by Specialist Subject, although they had put out a 7" single with them prior. It's also the band's first album to be recorded with Phil Booth at JT Soar in Nottingham, however three tracks from their 2014 split with Spoonboy had been recorded there previously. [20] [21] [22]

In 2023, They went on The Darkest Timeline Disco Tour Part 2 to Hull, Norwich, Birmingham, Sheffield, and Newport. [23] In June 2023, they appeared at the Booze Cruise Festival. [24]

Discography

Albums

Extended plays

Singles

Split releases

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Exploding Hearts</span> American punk rock and power pop band

The Exploding Hearts were an American punk rock and power pop band formed in Portland, Oregon, United States, in 2001. The band was composed of vocalist/guitarist Adam Cox, bassist Matt Fitzgerald, guitarist Terry Six, and drummer Jeremy Gage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bearsuit</span>

Bearsuit are an English art-rock/indie pop band from Norwich, England, active from 2001.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tender Trap</span> English indiepop/twee pop band

Tender Trap are an English indiepop/twee pop band based in London, England, formed in 2001 by three of the five members of Marine Research - Amelia Fletcher, Rob Pursey, and John Downfall.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Big Scary Monsters Recording Company</span> English record label

Big Scary Monsters Recording Company is an independent record label based in Oxford, England, UK.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dirtnap Records</span> Record label

Dirtnap Records is an independent record label specializing in punk rock. It was founded by Ken Cheppaikode while he was living in Seattle, Washington, in 1999. He bought Green Noise record store in Portland, Oregon, in 2005 and then ran the label from there.

Fortuna POP! was an English independent record label based in London, started in 1995 by Sean Price. It specialised in indie pop music.

The Ergs! are an American punk rock band formed in 2000 in South Amboy, New Jersey, by three high school friends: drummer/lead vocalist Mikey Erg, guitarist/vocalist Jeff Erg, and bassist Joey Erg. The band developed in the New Brunswick, New Jersey music scene. Through touring and recording the Ergs! became recognized on a national and international level, touring and playing with such noted acts as The Descendents, The Bouncing Souls, Lifetime, Less Than Jake, The Loved Ones, The Gaslight Anthem, Dillinger Four, None More Black, The Explosion, Municipal Waste, Lemuria, and more. They have appeared at a number of festivals including Riot Fest, Insubordination Fest, and The Fest, the latter of which the band played four consecutive years, including as a headlining act in 2008, and making a fifth appearance as a headlining reunion act in 2016.

<i>Meet The Searchers</i>

Meet The Searchers is the 1963 debut and most successful album by British rock band The Searchers. The album featured their first single released in June 1963, a version of the Drifters' "Sweets for My Sweet", which was a UK No.1 for the band, as well as their version of the Clovers "Love Potion No.9", which was released as a single in the U.S. the following year. "Love Potion No.9" peaked on the US charts at No. 3 on 19 December 1964. The album was also released in Canada, Germany and South Africa, often with track listing changes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The White Wires</span> Canadian garage rock band

The White Wires were a Canadian garage rock band formed in Ottawa, Ontario, in 2007. The band is in rotation on CBC Radio. The Ottawa Citizen calls the band "energetic and entertaining" with a clear sense of mission, while the Ottawa Sun identifies them as one of the city’s "favourite bands".

Standard Fare were a British three-piece indie-pop band based in Sheffield, The band were formed in 2005 and comprised members Emma Kupa, Danny How, and Andy Beswick. Standard Fare were named after a sign Emma saw on a bus in Newcastle. The band's sound draws on their influences of soft rock and punk but is often linked to the sounds of C86 era bands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joanna Gruesome</span> Welsh band

Joanna Gruesome were a five-piece noise pop band from Cardiff, Wales. The name of the group is a reference to musician Joanna Newsom. They released two albums and a number of singles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Spook School</span> British four-piece indie pop band

The Spook School were a British four-piece indie pop band from Edinburgh, Scotland. The name is a reference to the Glasgow School.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fresh (band)</span> British pop punk band

Fresh is a British pop punk band formed in London in 2015 by Kathryn Woods (vocals/guitar), with George Phillips (bass) and Daniel Goldberg (drums) joining in 2016. The current lineup is completed by Joely Smith (guitar), who joined in 2023. They have released three albums and four EPs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Tuts</span> English DIY pop punk band

The Tuts were an English DIY pop punk, "three-tone" band from Hayes, Greater London. They received extensive coverage from alternative music radio, most notably Amazing Radio, and from music websites such as Louder Than War which published multiple articles on the group, calling them "one of the UK's most exciting bands". The band, particularly frontwoman Nadia Javed, were the subject of a feature in the ITV series Young, British and Muslim in April 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Doe (band)</span> British indie rock band

Doe were a British indie rock band from London, England, consisting of Nicola Leel, Jake Popyura and Dean Smithers (guitar). The band released two studio albums and toured extensively in the UK, Europe and USA.

<i>Blisters in the Pit of My Heart</i> 2016 studio album by Martha

Blisters in the Pit of My Heart is the second studio album by English band Martha. It was released in July 2016 by Fortuna Pop! in the UK/EU and Dirtnap Records in the US.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Radiator Hospital</span> American indie rock band

Radiator Hospital is an American indie rock band. Though songwriter Sam Cook-Parrott (vocals/guitar) is from Grand Rapids, Michigan, they are now based in Philadelphia. The rest of the current lineup is Cynthia Schemmer (guitar/vocals), Jon Rybicki (bass), and Jeff Bolt (drums). They have released six albums; two out of print lo-fi cassettes, and four LPs put out by Salinas Records.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chorusgirl</span>

Chorusgirl is the musical project of Silvi Wersing formed in 2014. She spent her formative years as a musician playing bass and guitar in a string of bands, first in Germany, then in England. Wersing began recording demos on her own, and then with producer Jan-Niklas Jansen, at Bear Cave Studio in Cologne. When enough songs were ready to be aired live, she formed a group.

<i>Love Keeps Kicking</i> 2019 studio album by Martha

Love Keeps Kicking is the third studio album by the English band Martha. It was originally released on 5 April 2019 by Big Scary Monsters in the UK/EU and Dirtnap Records in the US.

Nervus are an English anarcho-punk band from Watford. The current lineup is Em Foster, Paul Etienne (keyboards), Lucinda Livingstone (bass), and Jack Kenny (drums). They have released four full-length albums; Permanent Rainbow (2016), Everything Dies (2018), Tough Crowd (2019), and The Evil One (2022).

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Hart, Otis (9 October 2014). "The Pop-Punks Of Anarchy". NPR . Retrieved 13 October 2014.
  2. ↑ Clark, Peter (28 January 2011). "Bearded Label Love: Discount Horse". Bearded Magazine.
  3. ↑ Thomas, Fred. "Courting Strong - Martha - Reviews". AllMusic . Retrieved 29 September 2016.
  4. ↑ Brown, Paul (20 November 2014). "Album Review: Martha - Courting Strong". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on 22 December 2014.
  5. ↑ Clarke, Helen (26 May 2014). "Martha - Courting Strong - Albums - musicOMH". Musicomh.com.
  6. ↑ Girling, Damien (6 June 2014). "Courting Strong by Martha (Album)". Songwriting Magazine.
  7. ↑ "Martha - Courting Strong". Thefourohfive.com. Archived from the original on 2 January 2015. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
  8. ↑ "Indietracks interview #13: ONSIND". Indietracks.co.uk.
  9. ↑ "Premiere: No Ditching - "Dickhead"". Noisey. 7 May 2015.
  10. ↑ "Fortitude Valley" . Retrieved 1 March 2024.
  11. ↑ "Martha: Pop is Important. We Love it". Scenebetterdays.com. 28 October 2015.
  12. ↑ "Martha: Blisters In The Pit Of My Heart - Fortuna POP! - 8 July". Butilikeyou.co.uk. Archived from the original on 9 August 2016. Retrieved 24 August 2016.
  13. 1 2 3 4 Sendra, Tim. "Martha Biography". Allmusic . Retrieved 17 April 2018.
  14. ↑ Spotify (1 May 2023). "Emo Dad Talks to Martha" (Podcast). Emo Dad Podcast. Event occurs at 1:00:50. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
  15. ↑ Baines, Huw (20 August 2015). "Martha And Radiator Hospital To Combine For UK Tour". Stereoboard.com. Retrieved 17 April 2017.
  16. ↑ "Joyce Manor and Martha are touring the UK and Ireland together!". DIY . 12 April 2017. Retrieved 17 April 2017.
  17. ↑ Chris Gethard [@ChrisGethard] (17 April 2018). "Yo La Tengo can't do The @GethardShow tonight. Luckily DIY heroes @MarthaDIY are scrambling up from Washington DC to play our show on last minute notice. They're saving our asses. AND their album is one of my favorites. Good, kind, talented people I'm excited for you to hear" (Tweet). Retrieved 24 April 2018– via Twitter.
  18. 1 2 Murray, Robin (13 December 2018). "Listen: Martha - 'Heart Is Healing'". Clash . Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  19. 1 2 3 4 Rettig, James (28 January 2019). "Martha – "Love Keeps Kicking"". Stereogum . Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  20. 1 2 "Martha have announced a new album, 'Please Don't Take Me Back'". Upset Magazine. 16 August 2022. Retrieved 16 August 2022.
  21. ↑ "Martha Please Don't Take Me Back". Under The Radar Mag. 28 October 2022. Retrieved 31 October 2022.
  22. ↑ "Martha – Please Don't Take Me Back". Clash . 26 October 2022. Retrieved 31 October 2022.
  23. ↑ "Martha the darkest Timeline Disco Tour Part 2 announcement post". Martha Band Instagram Post. 15 January 2023. Retrieved 19 February 2024.
  24. ↑ "Booze Cruise announcement post". 6 March 2023. Retrieved 19 February 2024.
  25. 1 2 3 4 "Martha Discogs Artist Page". Discogs.com.
  26. ↑ "Is Tomorrow Just A Day Like All The Rest". Bandcamp. BSM Rocks. Retrieved 29 February 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.