(Indie Pop, Indie Folk) Laura J Martin - On the Never Never - 2016, MP3, 320 kbps

2016 release, the third studio album by Liverpudlian singer/songwriter Laura J Martin. On The Never Never tells of the disconnect she felt when returning home to Liverpool to find that all individuality had been erased and replaced by gleaming empty flats. A chance conversation with Lambchop's Matt Swanson and Tony Crow proved fruitful and they planted the seeds of an idea in Martin's head that "recording in Nashville and working with Mark Nevers was a real possibility". Swanson and Crow join the all-star band for On The Never Never alongside Silver Jews' Brian Kotzur on drums and The Jesus Lizard's Duane Denison reviving Fame-era Jimmy Johnson on electric guitar. Shot through with wit and humor alongside the sociopolitical themes - one of the characters talks of bleaching toilets and taking trips to Lanzarote - On The Never Never skips through waltz timings, bears influences from Scott Walker to the Compass Point Allstars and picks up a guest vocal from Benjamin Zephaniah along the way. With On The Never Never, Martin has produced a hopeful record, full of joy, beauty and tongue in cheek looks at those in charge.