Madmartigan

Based out of Austin, Texas, Madmartigan is a four-piece rock band that gives its audiences a dynamic post-modern rock experience. The album Dracula(s) was recorded DIY style and stays true to their genre of pop punk rock.

The track titled “Waltz of the Chupacabra” is a great track to listen to; it starts off with an enticing guitar chord and the rest of the song is decorated with catchy and metaphorical lyrics. “Something dammed my stream of consciousness. I'm only getting a few drops out at a time,” the song is high energy and it all slowly builds up toward the end which seems to be the quite literal breakdown of all the energy built up in the song.

A song intriguingly named “Riding Dragons Through a F*cking Time Vortex” gives listeners another side to Madmartigan’s persona. This track is a bit more toned-down in style and sentiment; it’s a bit more emotional and carries a heavier vibe, some may call it emo. The lyrics, “I consume every backhanded compliment in the room... And you and I both know we'll be the first to sell out the moon,” illustrate that sentiment clearly.

The track “Working on My Vertical Leap” is also heavy in sentiment, it starts off with a slow winding guitar and then some shaky, deep lyrics start to draw a somewhat suicidal scene; “Where I stand: On a rickety bridge over top shark infested waters.” As the song moves along, it becomes somewhat transcendental and goes through a few metamorphoses making it an interesting listen.

This album is a successful release and each song has its own unique story to tell. Anyone interested in post-modern punk rock will enjoy Dracula(s). - The Equal Ground

Upon first glance, Madmartigan’s Toys & Candy wasn’t the most appealing record. As a person who is 100% guilty of judging an albums by their cover, the inverted cross had me mentally preparing myself for a really lame black metal record. Fortunately, I was more than relieved and even pleasantly surprised when my ears were instead filled with something a thousand times better.

The release opens strong with “Every Star Is Gone.” The track features a cool pop punk sound that’s easy to love. Topped with with astounding vocals followed by wholehearted lyrics, “Every Star Is Gone” is simple and easily the most notable song on the record. “Howl of the Minotaur” continues the streak with an alluring edge. Smooth bass lines and pungent guitar work gives the track a darker feel while creating an appealing blend of indie and rock.

Concluding the three-track EP, “Paper Thin” bounces between beautifully inctricate melodies and heavy breakdowns. Despite the obvious showcase of talent within the track, it seems as though there’s just a little too much going on. The shift in style isn’t bad necessarily, it’s just out of place and lacks that strong ending that the previous tracks led up to.

There’s no doubt that Madmartigan are skilled at what they do and they definitely show it on this EP. Overall, Toys & Candy is pretty solid. This is a band that I would personally like to see develop in the future.

U&U’s Favorite Track :: “Every Star Is Gone” - Adriana Sanchez, "Unsigned & Unleashed"

The four piece band Madmartigan have been together since 2011 and have had two releases so far. In 2014 they released Dracula​(​s) and just recently released Toys & Candy. The music they play is fairly straight forward rock that could fall into the category of pop punk. Madmartigan have a mainstream accessibility while stiff having a slight edge that makes their music engaging.

The EP starts with “Every Star is Gone” which is the most predictable song out of three. It adheres to pop punk 101 aesthetics and does little to establish much more than that. The strongest aspect of the song is the lyrics which is ambiguous, poetic and broad. He sings “And who would've thought we'd be... Escaping so frantically? Like we just pulled a bank job But our pockets are empty.”

“Howl of the Minotaur” is a step up in every aspect from the first song. The guitar riffs are more inventive, there is a symphonic element to the song and the vocalist give a better vocal performance. I loved the way the song started with a jagged guitar and a disjointed beat. As the song progresses there a surplus of changes including one which reminded me of the band Tool. The song doesn’t contain a lot of lyrics but is still prolific. I thought the opening line “We grew apart, it's nothing supernatural. And I never start anything I will finish” was one of the vocalist best lines.

The band has more success with “Paper Thin.” It was a spacious song where you can hear all the elements. The guitar and bass lines work especially well on this song. “Paper Thin” is the longest track on the but also the most dynamic.

Despite a head scratching opener the band goes two for three with Toys & Candy. The band is obviously talented but still could use some work defining a sound. They show some interesting cross blending of genres within the last two songs but seems like it’s not quite perfected yet. Toys & Candy is a solid offering from the band but think their best work probably lies ahead. - Ted Rogen, "The Even Ground"