Martha - Love Keeps Kicking (Dirtnap, 2019)

Martha
Love Keeps Kicking
Dirtnap
2019

Rating: 7 albino alligators out of 10

Can I just say Martha is the British version of Swearin’ and leave it at that, or do I need to say more on the topic?  Both are more or less punky pop (as opposed to pop punk, obviously), have both male and female lead vocals, lots of mid-tempo numbers, and just an overall similar vibe.  Hell, just to make sure I wasn’t imagining the comparison I went back and listened to some Swearin’ and reaffirmed I wasn’t just making this up.  They’re not exactly the same obviously - Martha is a little janglier, has more harmonies between the lead vocalists (and in fact, though the dynamic is the same, the vocalists for each group sound very different from one another), and occasionally venture into a Promise Ring-like emo pop territory (see album highlight “Sight For Sore Eyes” or “Wrestlemania VIII”).  The best song on “Love Keeps Kicking” is actually the title track, a tune that will immediately get stuck in your head and that sounds like an outtake from the debut Exploding Hearts record (I seldom offer praise this high in this genre).  This song is so good that it actually makes the rest of this otherwise very enjoyable release seem lackluster in comparison.  Strong, strong contender for song of the year, if I actually kept track of such things.