Album Review: Martay – “Game Over”

Martay – “Game Over”
Released: 2011
Reviewed by: Ed Welch
Rating: 7.05 (Out of 10)
[xrr rating=7.05/10]

My first impression as I looked at the cover was, “yeah the cover looks like a font used for games, but it also looks extremely dated.” I’ve never heard of Martay before and the cover caused me to lower my expectation a little bit. The intro/first song (Game Over Pt. 1) didn’t help either.  Five lines in and she was already singing flat.  To be specific, “much too beautiful” didn’t go over to well.  She didn’t make it all the way to the top note (twice) and slid back down.  …Once again, not a good first impression. The production sounds cool, but she sounds like she’s forcing it vocally. At this point, I’m just hoping that it’s not like this for the whole project. Is the game already over?

Next is Warrior-Remix featuring a bunch of other artists. Once again, the production is nice and the rap features handle their biz. The only negative on this song was Martay singing towards the end “Warriors unite, warriors we fight”. It didn’t last long enough to be annoying, but a closer listen revealed that her vocals aren’t tight again. One of the doubled vocals clashed with the other vocal, because she changed notes at different times. It’s a small observation in light of an actually good song, but also could’ve been easily fixed.  I noticed “little” vocal mistakes like this throughout the project.  When in doubt, do another take.  This game could go either way at this point.

Ok, one thing that is really good from start to finish is the production. It’s creative, diverse, and entertaining. I feel like I’ve died and gone to the buffet! Club bangers, edgy “rock-ish” songs, slow and smooth songs that are all produced well. Great job to the production team! Two points for the home team.

One weakness is the writing/style of singing. Martay doesn’t have the “strongest” voice and by strong, I don’t mean she’s quiet or soft. She doesn’t always hold the note firmly and hit runs clearly. This actually is an issue that can be fixed or at least covered or avoided. It’s all about how you write the song to flow with the music, but also accentuate the singer’s voice. Sometimes the singing and/or writing was just too simple (maybe this was an attempt to deal with what I just mentioned). For example, sometimes she just stayed on the same note too long instead of giving the listener something different to listen to and keep their attention.

Some songs were just right. My absolute favorite song on this project is I-Rock.  The beat is bumping. Martay stays in the pocket on this one. She doesn’t try to do too much, but still adds style and excitement to the track. The rap verse comes at the perfect time and Brinson does his thing with the appropriate lyrical style for this beat. This is one of the songs I can put on repeat. 1000 Voices is really catchy.  …actually, most of the songs are really catchy. Please don’t weigh too heavily on the negatives I’ve written about. It’s the truth, but even with all of that being said, the album is definitely enjoyable. Some different effects may help Martay’s voice sound a little smoother (i.e. the harmony parts on Pray). The edgy songs also fit her voice really well.

The concept and content of this project is solid and should be a blessing to all who hear it. Martay is real and it’s obvious that she speaks from the heart. The beats (as I expressed earlier) are banging. There is a good mixture of fast and slow songs.  Keep grinding Martay, because I definitely enjoyed this project. But hey, everybody is a critic.  I’m just the guy who wrote the review.  Peace and much love.

Comprehensive Ratings:

• Music                           8.5
• Flow                            7
• Lyricism/Singing            4
• Content                        8
• Creativity                      7
• Credibility                     7
• Personality                    8
• Presentation                  6.5
• Overall Production        7
• Potential Impact            7.5