Who remembers Martin Grech? I suspect the answer is very few. I was briefly very obsessed with his song Open Heart Zoo in 2002. I remember seeing the video on MTV2 as I was about to leave the house one day for college, but stuck around to hear the rest of the song and find out who it was by (meaning I missed my bus, although that wasn't a huge problem). Shortly afterwards I found the 7" in FM Music in Southampton for £1.50 so added it to the pile of records I'd bought that day. Apparently the song was used in a car advert, although I have no memory of seeing the ad.
Listening to it now, I can see why I liked it back in the day. Despite sounding nothing like the sort of music I was listening to, it was dark and brooding and had violins so appealed to me. I still quite like it now. A very slow, heavy (programmed) drum beat kicks in near the end which sounds excellent. The b-side is quite nice too, although much more Radiohead-y than the the a-side (this was around the time Radiohead released Kid A/Amnesiac and sounds like it). I was given Martin Grech's album (also called Open Heart Zoo) for Christmas that year and it was nice enough on the first few listens but wouldn't stand the test of time so well. I can't think when the last time I played that cd was, but it might be time to dig it out and see how it sounds in 2014. I'm not holding high hopes for the rest of the album, but the title track has aged well.
Format: 7", numbered
Tracks: 2
Cost: £1.50 new
Bought: FM Music, Southampton
When: 29/10/02
Colour: Black
Etching: none
mp3s: no
