New York, NY (Top40 Charts) On May 5th, Walter Martin, lyricist, co-writer, and multi-instrumentalist of The Walkmen, will release his new album My Kinda Music via his own imprint Ile Flottante Music. As the second installment of his Juvenile Series, it follows 2014's award winning and critically acclaimed album We're All Young Together. Set to a rollicking musical backdrop, My Kinda Music tells vivid stories of music-making, family history, and self-discovery. In the lead single "Hey Matt," Matt Berninger of The National gives Martin a singing lesson and the two friends discuss a recent (and real) rejection by his idol, Randy Newman.
Stream/embed "Hey Matt" (feat. Matt Berninger) here:
My Kinda Music features Martin's signature knockabout and quirky sound filled with delicate musical moments, but his focus is clearly on the stories. His vocals are the centerpiece of the album; he's developed a plainspoken narrative approach that mixes genuine emotion and absurd humor in an entirely natural way. As Martin explains, "I want people to recognize something very human on the other end of their little earbuds, so I put a lot of my unvarnished self in my songs. I want people to recognize someone who talks like them and has flaws like them and who thinks absurd thoughts like them."
Martin's interest in narration and the art of storytelling goes back to his childhood. "I'll never forget being a kid listening to Garrison Keillor's Lake Wobegon Days on long family car trips. I'd be lying in the nauseating back seat of our minivan transfixed by the warmth and humor of his stories. And up in the front my parents would be experiencing the exact same thing. My goal with this album is to induce that same kind of wonderful family hypnosis."
In addition to Matt Berninger, Laura Gibson also guests on My Kinda Music for "Trip on a Ship" in which she and Martin sing to each other about the complications of an innocent crush. Other notable contributors are mixers Phil Ek (Fleet Foxes, Band of Horses) and Gabe Wax (War on Drugs, Beirut), both of whom put their unique stamps on the tracks they mix.
My Kinda Music follows 2014's We're All Young Together which garnered much critical praise, produced a long-standing #1 single on Sirius XM's family station, and included songs featured in major advertising campaigns for iPhone and Android. Additionally, We're All Young Together won a Parents' Choice Award and earned Martin an invitation to the Sydney Opera House where he performed the album in its entirety.
"I like albums where you can understand every word and the lyrics tell a clear story and paint a clear picture. No attempts at abstraction or poetry - just direct storytelling. That's what i'm going for."
Track List:
01) The Wishing Well
02) Trip on a Ship (feat. Laura Gibson)
03) Hey Matt (feat. Matt Berninger)
04) Family Tree
05) Child, The Man Said
06) My Kinda Music
07) The Everglades
08) Where'd You Go Uncle Joe?
09) Marco Polo
10) It's a Dream (Night Version)
