This isn’t the first time we meet the Brothers Martin. Back in 1990, the emerging Southern California underground Christian scene produced many bands that didn’t quite fit the mold of contemporary music. Stylistically, those bands were scattered all across the board, with everything from hardcore punk and metal to hip-hop and dance. One of those bands was Dance House Children.  

DHC fell into the vein of club-oriented electro-pop and released two albums on the now defunct Blonde Vinyl label. While they split up in 1993, they continued on their respective musical journeys with Jason going onto form the shoegazer-now New Wave/indie rock Starflyer 59 and Ronnie to his synthpop faction Joy Electric. Since 1994, I have been a fan of SF59, but as for Joy E, I was more of the occasional listener.  

Either way, this self-titled release (Tooth and Nail Records) is a pleasant surprise. Their combination of indie rock and synth-pop is a grand introduction to what the rest of the record holds. With “The Harsh Effects of Time”, “The Missionary,” and “The Plot That Weaves,” they immediately take you to the land of New Order with simple yet lovely guitars riding along the subtle electronic touches, utilizing Ronnie’s synth prowess.  

Both do vocal duties on this, but just as in DHC, they are done separately on each track with the exception being the opening track “Communication”. It exemplifies the best combination of what these brothers are capable of doing. “Get The Money” goes the route of New Order again, more along the lines of albums like Get Ready or Waiting for the Sirens’ Call. 

Bottom line: Several bands such as The Killers, The Bravery, or whomever else NME is touting as the next big thing will continue to make their attempts at capturing what New Order or any other great band from that era did. Don’t overlook this release just because it isn’t mentioned in the same breath as those bands. This is one of the best albums 2007 has given us thus far.