I'm a sucker for stuff like this. Blending a tunefulness that recalls The Supernaturals in their prime, and the cleverness we'd expect from BMX Bandits (Paul Kelly's home-band), The Martial Arts are back with a new EP. Getting Stranger By The Month, out on Friday via Last Night From Glasgow, is joyously pop, and exactly the kind of brightness we need this spring.
"Guilt by Association" reminded me of Yank treasures Jellyfish, while "Bethany" is more complex. Hooks abound here on this one, and the tune sort of surges forward with all the insistence of an Abba number. I say that as the highest sort of compliment. Paul Kelly is a wizard at this stuff, and the ease with which he can conjure up a lovely melody is sort of stunning.
Things get more ornate on "Nicechap", a number here featuring the talented Carla J. Easton on backing vocals. Paul Kelly adds interesting almost-glam rock textures to this one, and the number is sort of the flip of the earlier, bigger tunes. Mind you, everything Kelly touches is going to soar, but it's interesting when he modulates things a bit too, like on the Hunky Dory-ish "The Wild Humdrum", the EP closer. Still, let's start raving about this whole EP now, 'cause Paul Kelly has shown himself a real power-pop master here on this one.
Getting Stranger By The Month is out on Friday via Last Night From Glasgow.
More details on The Martial Arts via the band's official Facebook page.
[Photo: Brian Sweeney]