Martin Carr - Ye Gods (And Little Fishes) (1LP)

Originally released in 2009, Martin Carr’s Ye Gods (And Little Fishes) is an album of personal intent, marrying Carr’s signature Boo Radley’s pop sensibilities with English folk, sea shanties, lap-steel guitar and spooky Farfisa organ, making a heady blend of sunshine pop and backwoods unease. Ditching his sometime alter-ego Brave Captain, the ex-Boo Radleys guitarist and songwriter chose to tell these stories as himself. On Darwin’s Tree, Carr sings, Bury my bones beneath Darwin’s Tree, it might mean something to you, it means nothing to me…, a funeral lament that could have been written in 1809 or a hundred years later. Further on, for album closer I’ve Got The Key, he ruminates, Hand me my violin, I’ll sing you a sad song, about the state I’m in, it’s not gonna take long. This is Carr at his most honest and melodic best.

Upon its original release in 2009, Pitchfork Magazine wrote: If you and Carr last communicated when he was still a Boo Radley, this might be a good time to get re-acquainted, and if you've followed the Brave Captain through every stage of his voyage, you'll certainly want to take this opportunity to get to know him on a more personal level.