Change is inevitable. It’s the very essence of music. Times, tempos, rhythms, energies, moods, feelings. Music can present the exciting, the profound, the known and the new through these changes. Following on from the success of their debut album, “Rhythm of Dawn”, released to critical acclaim in 2015, Cry Monster Cry return with a sound that has changed.
The music still contains the tight fraternal harmonies, evocative lyrics and dynamic instrumentation that brothers Richie and Jamie Martin have become well known for, but a new presence is also acutely apparent. This time around, the band has harnessed the visceral, taking a direct and measured approach to song writing.
Their new single, “Thing We Can’t Take Back” is an example of this, both lyrically and musically. The track is announced with sparse bars of a solid, solitary drum beat before a brawny punch of piano, double bass and electric guitar kicks in. The song creates a series of spaces to tell the story, with an intimate vocal and honest lyrics over a beat and character that sits somewhere between R&B and folk.
The chorus sees the brothers’ distinctive harmonies joining in, along with a swirling synthesizer that creates a simple and effective impression. The new material is raw, honest, and their most personal to date.