Sentiment wise, Brooks John Martin is the California Dreaming of the current age, transporting us from whichever cold clime we find ourselves in and straight into the shimmering sun of the West Coast.
But beyond escapism, this album is a moment of revelation. It might be his fifth full length release, but it’s the first under his own name. No aliases, no assumed characters – just the man and his music.
Listen in here:
And what a sound it is. Martin has always gravitated towards folk at its core, but here, he wraps it in a cinematic, orchestral grandeur that recalls the lush productions of Brian Wilson and the unshackled spirit of Neil Young. Songs that could exist simply as folk compositions are elevated by swelling strings, hypnotic layers of sound and his deep, velvety baritone – an instrument that lingers somewhere between post punk romance and Brit-pop melancholia.
Take “Clear Blue Waters”, the album’s calling card. A shimmering indie-folk anthem, it blends rustic storytelling with pop embellishments. It’s that rare kind of song that defies an easy categorization, existing in a space where folk, rock and orchestral beauty meet.
Other standouts deepen the emotional weight of the album. “Straight Over Me” unfolds with a quiet intensity, its gentle yet persistent rhythm pulling listeners into its emotional undercurrent. The song captures the bittersweet nature of longing and acceptance, painting a picture of love and loss with striking simplicity. It’s a song about being swept away – by love, by time, by the forces that shape our lives in ways we don’t always understand. And it certainly pulls the listener into its hypnotic darkness with elegiac strings and brooding chords.
“It’s one of the darkest songs on the album, but I still haven’t figured out what it’s about,” Martin confesses.
“Breathe” sways with a haunting elegance, its strings and piano cradling Martin’s introspective lyrics. Meanwhile, “Millions” offers a wistful Midwestern country-folk vibe, filled with yearning for adventure. The song’s accompanying music video, directed by Bobby Hanford (Wyatt Flores, John Legend, Vic Mensa) captures this longing with visual poetry.
Recorded at Catamount Recording – where Stone Sour’s Grammy nominated debut was born – Brooks John Martin benefits from the warmth of live musicianship. Martin, who is now the studio’s owner, worked closely with producer Travis Huisman to create an album that embraces imperfections over a digital polish.
“This album is the most authentic version of what I do,” he shares. “It’s as real as it gets.”
If this is Martin’s final album, as he has hinted at, then he leaves us with an artistic statement that stands out as both an arrival and a farewell.
About Brooks John Martin
Brooks John Martin is a singer-songwriter from Cedar Falls, Iowa, whose music blends intimate storytelling with a lush, symphonic grandeur.
His sound is marked by an understated beauty, a mix of familiar folk melodies with expansive, orchestral arrangements that evoke the grandeur of Brian Wilson and the vulnerability of a personal confession.
As an artist at a crossroads, Brooks John Martin might be his most definitive work – a farewell to past iterations of himself, or perhaps, the beginning of something entirely new.
Find out more about Brooks John Martin on his Website
Stream music on Spotify and Apple Music.