New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Durham indiepop-punks Martha have announced their return, with their fourth album 'Please Don't Take Me Back' out October 28th on Dirtnap Records. Following on from the standalone single of the same name shared in May this year, today they release a brand new single and video featuring Ross Millard of the
Futureheads - 'Baby, Does Your
Heart Sink'.
The video sees the band auditioning to finally try and make some headway in the music industry. Unfortunately, they find the judges aren't as interested as they might have hoped. Alongside Millard, the video features Michael McKnight of Frankie and the Heartstrings, Mehzeb Chowdhury and Elf Kingdon.
Talking about the new track, Martha said: "'Baby, Does Your
Heart Sink' is just your classic break-up song, but one designed to be played at the disco at the end of the world. If there are multiple timelines, worlds, and universes out there, you've really got to wonder how things are going in the others, don't you?"
Shot at Sunderland's Pop Recs, the band have dedicated the video to the community music venue's co-founder Dave Harper who sadly passed away last year. The video was directed by Martha's drummer, Nathan Stephens-Griffin, who added: "this was the first time we'd all been together as a band for a while, and it was a really fun day.
Pop Recs is a brilliant thing, and we want to support as much as possible-everyone should visit when they get a chance. We'll be doing our Northeast album launch on that very same stage in early December and we can't wait. Hopefully the people watching are more into it on the night though! It was also extremely cool to get to direct a video featuring a Futurehead and a Heartstring!"
While their previous record - 2019's Love Keeps Kicking - saw them remaining defiant in a world that seemed to be breaking apart, new album Please Don't Take Me Back explores the scattered fragments of what followed and tries to make sense of how we navigate the smoking remains. The record also sees Martha joining forces again with US-based label, Dirtnap Records.
First formed in the small village of Pity Me, Durham, in 2011, Martha released their debut EP the following year on guitarist Jonathan Cairns' DIY label, Discount Horse. Tours on both sides of the Atlantic soon followed, along with two albums for Dirtnap Records: 2014's Courting Strong and 2016's sophomore effort Blisters In The Pit of My Heart. In the meantime, the band became figureheads for the UK's DIY pop scene by balancing their obvious talents with a clear set of ethics - anti-capitalist, first and foremost - and an open-hearted warmth that's often absent from the foreground of punk rock.
Please Don't Take Me Back is a fine addition to Martha's discography; their most life-affirming yet and a welcome ripple of light at a time when it's often difficult to see past the darkness. Listen and love: the beat perpetual drives on.
