Dom Martin - Buried In The Hail.

Dom Martin
Buried In The Hail
(Forty Below Records)
By Paul Davies 

            The sprite acoustic tones of the short opening tune, Hello In There, softly ushers in Dom Martin’s fourth studio album release. It deceptively sets up Daylight I Will Find that slides in with a banging blues stomp. The pathos imbued in Martin’s doleful vocals adds a deeply mined blues gravitas normally found in the Delta blues men; not those coming from inner city Belfast. That he instils such thoughts in the listener is the charm of Martin’s genuine love for the blues. Then again, also being a consummate guitarist and artist with a dangerous backstory of addiction leading to redemption, he has the life experience as he reveals in the grizzly and brooding Belfast Blues. As an album of acute lightness and deep, dark contrasts, it’s preceded by Government in which Martin channels John Martyn’s Sunday’s Child period mix of trance inducing acoustic compositions and gruff singing.
            Comparisons to Tom Waits are also not unfounded as Martin’s voice on the sorrowful ballad Crazy proves. It’s a song that bleeds out from the heart with the sort of smouldering guitar solo that Dom’s major influence, Rory Gallagher, would no doubt salute. Unhinged’s grinding riff has the kind of rusty sonics as catchy as, well, a heavy dose of the blues. The Hendrix and Rory guitar motifs add, and not detract, from this soon to be live favourite. Overall, Buried In The Hail is a smartly paced album of blues stylings that doesn’t repeat itself. Further proof of which is the haunting guitar and vocal intro to The Fall. It sets up this impressive record’s longest song that’s enveloped in a dramatic spooky vibe.

           The jaunty blues guitar picking, shuffling drums and pounding bass on Howlin’ precedes the opening of personal baggage on the title track that’s amplified by heavy coruscating guitar passages. Tailing off this career best album is Lefty Two Guns. It’s an electric guitar master class with overtones of Robin Trower at his slow burning best. All good things must come to an end and the chilly guitar passage on the brief Laid To Rest finally closes the lid on a mesmeric album of top-class blues music that’s Dom’s best to date.