Starting off with crystal clear fingerpicked chords, ‘Depth Over Distance’ is the second single from London singer-songwriter Martin, the follow-up to debut ‘Summer Haze’. Where ‘Summer Haze’, though, was synth-driven alt-pop, ‘Depth Over Distance’ pits Martin’s soulful falsetto over nothing more than a haunting solo acoustic guitar.
It’s a tough thing to do, the sparse instrumentation leaving no space for a performer to hide, but here the result is powerful and touching, a very personal break-up ballad filled with the heartbreak of a relationship which has died. Sure, there’s an easy James Blunt comparison, or maybe in this instance the early Ed Sheeran of ‘The A-Team’, but in reality, Martin’s voice is reminiscent of Annie Lennox on ‘Walking On Broken Glass’ or ‘Why’ mixed with, maybe, a touch of Justin Vernon – a plaintive falsetto, questioning and heartfelt without being cloying, and it matches the song perfectly.
Martin’s debut EP ‘Home’ is out later this summer; you can keep up with him, and listen to ‘Depth Over Distance’, here.
Review by Alex Holmes