I was on Youtube one day, sifting through the plethora of 80's related music videos, hoping to find something new, but not really expecting it. Then this came on.
What the heck was a Marth And The Muffins? I'd never heard of it. The song was kind of catchy. Nothing amazing from the decade, but definitely something I could see myself playing again. Then the hunt began. Whoo, that was a downer. Not only are their six albums of the decade incredibly rare on CD, but man are they expensive. The average cost was about $70.00 per disc, with one album almost peaking at $200.00.
That was a heck of a lot of money for a band I'd never heard of. so why did I keep coming back to them, pondering the prospect of buying them? I think it all came down to uniqueness and rarity. Something to add to the trove that wasn't common in your average music collection.
Well, unfortunately, average seems to be the takeaway with their 1980 debut, Metro Music. Things kick off with Echo Beach, which sets the bar a bit high, perhaps too high for Martha and her Muffins. What follows is decent punk, dance, and new wave music, but sadly, no hits to really drive it home.
That stated, I did dig the Sinking Land. The instrumentation laid down on that one is so different from the rest of the album, and overall, it's just a cool tune. It gave me hope that across their remaining albums that there were more hidden gems to be uncovered.
Stylistically, it reminds me of older material from The Police, as well as Bow Wow Wow, XTC, and The Waitresses. Metro Music was a decent starting point into new territory, and I'm definitely down with hearing more. I just hope that the value starts to show itself because as of now, the cost outweighs that in spades.
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Disclaimer: They Toy Box does not endorse or contribute to piracy. Retro Spins posts are intended for educational and entertainment purposes only. None of the music discussed here is available for sale, downloading or distribution.
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