Rating: NNN
On her fifth album (including 2010’s I Can Too and a recent live recording), Halifax’s Christina Martin continues to craft catchy roots pop. Her voice is distinct: trebly with a touch of vibrato that would convey vulnerability if she didn’t project so much confidence and optimism. Likewise, her songs are country-inspired kitchen-table confessions with enough jangly sheen to evoke summer drives.
No song is fully upbeat or downtrodden. Martin touches on the necessity of nurturing love, yearning for a home and working through anxieties and fears. She tells other women’s stories on songs like Marina and Sally, and finishes off with a sad-sounding tune called Happy. What I Always Knew, co-written by Dale Murray, is full-on Byrdsy, while Secret Song (written with Andrew Sisk) lays bare Martin’s candid approach.
Top track: Water It
