Ronnie Martin does what he wants, when he wants.
Exhibit A: In 1994, when the last thing anyone on the face of the planet wanted to hear was nitty-gritty synth pop, Martin inflexibly replied, "Screw it. I don't even care." He then went on to release a slew of albums on Tooth & Nail, effectively forcing any fan of the label to ultimately enjoy his music through osmosis.
Exhibit B: After shifting to a more moody and atmospheric style and releasing two of his most critically acclaimed albums to date, The White Songbook and The Tick Tock Treasury, Martin has now decided to revisit his poppy roots by issuing the bright, danceable, fun... Hello, Mannequin.
And what a return it is. Hello, Mannequin is packed solid with some of the catchiest hooks Martin has ever dispensed. "Disloyalist Party", "The Singing Arc", "Song for All Time" and "The Phonograph Plays, Part and Parcel" are among the finest songs he has ever recorded. If you're already a fan of Joy Electric, I assure you Hello, Mannequin is a purchase you won't have to think twice about.
On the other hand, if you're new to Joy Electric then you should probably be warned, if you haven't been already, that Ronnie Martin does what he wants, when he wants. And if that means singing songs about such bizarre topics as "The Birth of the Telegram, 1814" and little-known inventors like "Nikola Tesla", then there's no way anyone's gonna stop him. Also, if he wants a few of the album's weaker tracks to sound almost indistinguishable in terms of melody, then you better believe they will.
A few minor blemishes aside however, Hello, Mannequin is a tremendous album well worth the time of anyone who has grown tired of music grounded in unprocessed acoustic instrumentation.
3.5/4
Other coverage for this album
The Phantom Tollbooth November 2004Reviewed by Kevin MathewsYou've gotta admire Ronnie (Joy Electric) Martin's perseverance and his dogged commitment to his craft. "This recording contains vocals and synthesizers" Would Martin have been more at home during the early eighties in the UK where this genre was at its commercial peak than in the unforgiving modern rock landscape? Perhaps, but he would not be making the strident independent statement he is…HM Magazine #109Reviewed by Jamie Lee RakeIt's crazy how Christendom has had Joy Electric as its own electro-pop secret all these years. Crazier still how Ronnie Martin's one-man band defies the presupposed conventions of its genre by getting more textually and texturally nuanced with time. Not coincidentally, JE's latest (and last in a trilogy) Hello, Mannequin, trades in synthetically rendered impressions of time's ravages on…The Phantom Tollbooth July 2004Reviewed by Aaron C. AndersonHello Mannequin, I'm tired Hello Mannequin, I'm cold Hello Mannequin, I'm hungry Hello Mannequin, I'm weak Hello Mannequin, I'm sad Hello Mannequin, I'm angry Hello Mannequin, I'm scared Hello Mannequin, will you be my friend? This is how Ronnie Martin, the brainchild behind Joy Electric, chooses to open his latest album entitled quite fittingly, Hello Mannequin. From the opening lyrics the…Similar sounding releases
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