stmartiins - SWG3 The Poetry Club 13 March 2020
stmartiins the Dundee duo of Katie and Mark, bring their unique sound of DIY dreamy pop to Glasgow, as it’s live they swell to a five piece as they are joined by Megan, Stephen and Sam.
They are supported by Magpie Blue, the moniker of singer/songwriter Millie Hanlon Cole, who is joined by her band this evening to play a very good set of songs, the picks of the bunch for me being Just in Time and Haunted.
If you like your music melancholy akin to Jeff Buckley and PJ Harvey then make sure you take note of Magpie Blue, she has a big future ahead. I for one will be keeping up to date with her going forward.
We then welcome stmartiins to the stage in the very intimate surroundings that is The Poetry Club in SWG3.
Katie thanks the crowd for coming down and tells us they have released new EP today, hoping for the worst and will play that start to finish before giving us some new tunes.
The set kicks off with Intro which is a short but essential tune, it really introduces the sound and vibe of stmartiins, a laid back chill, reminded of 60’s pop.
We then get Saw the Moon, which is a delightful piece of music, driven by a chorus of soft dream beats, and encapsulates the smooth vocals of Katie to perfection. This is followed by Want God, a song about faith and it’s imagery, it’s another example of the creativity in the writing of Mark and Katie, a song showcasing gorgeous melody and sharp instrumentation.
Next up is Holly’s House, a new track on the EP, and is very much a low-fi pop song, very relaxed melody and again a dreamy vocal. Katie introduces the next track as My Girl before realising no it’s actually Melvin, which is an ode to the loss of a close friend, and is a hazy dreamy song, with more punch to the rhythm than previous songs of the night. It is certainly more melancholy and is a real heartfelt song for a love lost as summed up by the lyrics “this year I’ll be something, I know you’d love nothing more” and “not long from now I’ll join you in the ground”.
My Girl is then next and we are fortunate to get this twice, due to some issues with the electronics we get a stripped down version of the song along with some improv stand-up comedy from Katie. After technical issues resolved they resume with the full version of My Girl and this has a more pronounced jazz feel to it, R&B drums and a wavy guitar.
The final track on their new EP is Bad Friend and this is another fuzzy piece of pop, swirling guitars and a gentle trippy drum beat and brings to end part one of the evening.
Soundtrack sees Katie pick up a guitar and is almost solo, as her haunting melody is accompanied by a gentle guitar riff. Curtains and Raindrops are two great new songs and if this an indication of the duo’s future output then we are in for a few treats to come over the coming months.
The next song is called Devils a Pair, and starts of with an eerie drum and synth sound to it and is a quieter piece of music, it’s a song on first listen sounded really good, hopefully it will end up as a single and will be on streaming sites soon.
Last Harvest sees Katie pick up the guitar again, and this is a harder rockier song, the drumming is a bit more intense, as is Mark’s guitar riff and again a very impressive new song.
The final song is Jazzboy an old favourite, this song is about the move to Glasgow and the jadedness that it caused, it’s a darker tune, with a strong bass but again encapsulates that dreamy sound of summers not quite remembered. The end lyrics “that doesn’t matter to me” is at contrast to stmartiins as it’s clear their music does matter, they bring the same ethic to their live set that is present in their studio recordings, it’s all delivered with precision and meaning and is only enhanced by the band increasing to a five piece to do so.
Now to steal a song title from The Stone Roses, it’s a Beautiful Thing seeing stmartiins live, they play their own unique brand of innovative dreamy pop and it’s surely only a matter of time before their talent receives more widespread recognition and accolades.
Setlist
Intro
Saw the Moon
Want God
Hollys House
Melvin
My Girl
Bad Friend
Soundtrack
Curtains
Raindrops
Devils a Pair
Last Harvest
Jazzboy
Sadly but sensibly stmartiins have decided to postpone the rest of their tour due to that dreaded new c word !!!!
Hopefully, that will mean more time on the studio to create even more dreamy pop, in the meantime have a listen to their EP hope for the worst.
https://open.spotify.com/album/2zmbHD7kSmroKPUifbz8GA?si=-uxwkDhtRcmouj86yZ-6cw
