Walter Martin: Arts, Leisure, and Rhythm
When Walter Martin last joined us, he was playing songs from his acclaimed "children's album for grownups" We're All Young Together. The story at the time was that his "other" band, Brooklyn indie rockers The Walkmen, had gone on extended hiatus, Walter had a kid, and he was looking for a warm and funny way to express the stress of the previous year.
Fast forward to 2016, and Martin is releasing his first solo grownup album for grownups— though it's a far cry from the "raunchy biker rock record" he threatened to make. Instead what we have is Arts & Leisure, a batch of wryly observed tunes about obscure painters, architects, and the art world. And if that sounds like more of a nightmare college course than a rock record, keep your ears open long enough to hear the Cure-like slink of "Down by the Singing Sea" or the witty Loudon Wainwright shuffle of "Charles Rennie Mackintosh."
