At $200.00, Martha And The Muffin's This Is The Ice Age, is their most expensive album in their discography to collect on CD. In general, none of them have been reasonably priced, and this is mainly because they didn't exist on anything other than vinyl and cassette for the longest time. They were slowly released by various labels between 2003 and 2017, a period when the world had seemingly shifted to digital formats. Meaning when CD's were produced, it was in by no means any form of volume. As such, funding pressed discs from that musical wasteland period does tend to get costly. So, to that regard, I understand what's driving the price, but that doesn't mean I have to like it.
Leading up to the recording sessions that would ultimately churn out their third record, bassist Carl Finkle would depart for undisclosed reasons and be replaced by Jocelyne Lanois. She'd introduce them to her brother, Daniel, who the band felt would be the best choice as producer for their next album. However, this would come with a caveat from Virgina Records, who informed the band that selecting an unknown producer would also mean they'd work with a lower budget.
The end result would be a more experimental album, one which would become a hit in their native Canada. It peaked at number thirty-six, and spawned two dance chart singles, Women Around The World At Work, and Swimming.
That's a perfect segue into today's Retro Spin, as the latter kicks the album off. While I'm not necessarily a fan of the vocals of Mark Gane on the track, he shines through with his fantastic guitar work, which makes the song quite enjoyable.
The second aforementioned single would follow but really didn't impress me all that much. In fact, that's pretty much the territory I once again find myself with Martha And The Muffins. Just not really impressive.
What I did notice, was that in the absence of Martha Ladly as co-vocalist, Gane was stepping in more as more to sing tracks. The problem here is that his style is very monotone, and candidly, quite boring. It doesn't add anything to any of the songs he takes the lead on.
As if to decide things weren't monotonous enough, the band shove a two-and-a-half-minute instrumental track in the middle of the album. It's very drab, serves as more atmospheric than a display of solid musicianship, and feels like its only purpose is to fill space. It misses the mark of everything that makes an instrumental track good. If I had to choose any additional standout tracks, I suppose Casualties Of Glass was decent, but as a whole, the album is pretty unsatisfying.
Needless to say, the "investment" on the albums is not paying off at all. But at least I wasn't the only one at this point who wanted to quit. Not wanting to tour anymore, Nick Gane would leave the band after the release of This Is The Ice Age. He'd be replaced by Nick Kent. Following the supporting tour, Andy Haas would also depart, citing creative differences. However, the band would not replace him and instead carry on as a four piece.
Unfortunately for me, I'm only at the halfway point of the band's 80's discography. With three more to go, I'm not looking forward to any of it. I don't know if I'll jump into their next album tomorrow, or if I'll tap out for a while. I'm really not enjoying their music.
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