Moon Martin - Escape From Domination This is one I've been meaning to writeup since the review of that Craig Leon reissue. Leon produced Martin, along with The Ramones, Blondie, Richard Hell and Suicide. Though more tellingly Leon also produced albums by
Dwight Twilley and The Records and its that soft pop / new wave axis that Martin hits so well. Probably best known for writing songs that were covered and made far more well known by others (Robert Palmer, Mink DeVille) his sophomore album excels as a complete piece rather than just a collection of singles, with the mood overtly leaning to the lost and lonely lover, something not hard to picture from the first look at Martin's Rick Moranis in a Dorthy Hamill pageboy cover shot. However as with all true troubadour geeks, Martin channels his pining into some truly superb pop gems aided ably by the aforementioned Leon, who shapes them into sparkling if brittle examples of New Wave jangle. Martin would go on to record two further albums in the 80's but they never retained the immediacy and oddity that made his first two records compelling (though not hits unfortunately in his case). Listen: Support the artist. Buy it HERE