Martin Harley is the kind of singer that exudes confidence. For his album, “Mojo Fix”, he escaped the deep dark abyss that is Britain to seek refuge in a studio in the land of the free. A courageous act indeed.
There is much to commend in “Mojo Fix”. The more sensitive moments, like “Cardboard King” or “Treading Water”, are handled with notable poise and no small amount of emotion. The up-tempo songs stomp along nicely too deftly navigating a torturous path between Americana and quasi Midwestern blues. All in all, that confidence alluded to previously carries most everything on this album along to the satisfaction of your ears.
However, there are some niggles. Well, one repeated niggle really. Martin Harley can clearly sing and he has the kind of voice that many an X Factor contestant would kill for yet, on many of the songs his voice has been processed to sound like he is singing down the telephone. You hear this sort of sound on many a second rate lo-fi blues album (where, perhaps, the budget limitations make it the only way to go) but this album, I would hope, is aimed at the mainstream. The logic simply escapes me.