Herman Martinez – Immortal Jellyfish
Herman Martinez – Immortal Jellyfish – Album Review
I’ve got more faith in Herman Martinez kicking all the ass than most of ya out there, and do I think he’s gonna go on to slay a full lineup of eighteen tracks? Heck NO! That’s no slight against him, believe me – it’s simply the odds being stacked against him when there are about four or five perfect albums with more than twelve tracks on’em throughout the entire history of music! Will it be Immortal Jellyfish that now makes me list-count them on two hands instead of one? Stay tuned to find out dear readers, dear friends! I never say it’s impossible, just extremely unlikely…let’s see how he did with his latest album…
I’ll tell ya this much, he sure lays out a viable attack for your attention with the complexity & innovation you’ll find in a song like his title-track to start the record. “Immortal Jellyfish” might be less than two minutes in total length, but let it be known y’all – it is MIGHTY. From the highly interesting selection of sound and instrumentation, to the mellowness of how it starts and then explodes around the forty-five second mark…”Immortal Jellyfish” is like a statement unto itself, and proof that Martinez is here to play. Love the guitar tones this guy uses…I always have, I always will, and this opening track will show ya why.
Pounding itself into place, “Cassettes” comes bangin’ in, taking you further into the mysterious realm of sound that Martinez has always shrouded himself within. Lyrically, he’s made some impressive moves with his words in relation to the theme of “Cassettes” – it’s a smartly written tune. Responding to the short length of his first cut with an extended second tune that expands to nearly six & a half minutes in total, “Cassettes” is a perfect example of the signature sound that Herman has created for himself over the years. I’ve been listening to this dude’s music for more than seven years at this point in time, and he’s continually gotten better with each new milestone of his career in my opinion. I can certainly recognize that he’s got a very niche appeal in many ways, but at the same time, I think it’s wildly impressive to hear how much his continued to hone in on, refine, and innovate his own sound, as opposed to trying to horn in on what’s already been done. Basically, with the skills you hear in Herman’s music, you know he could have made things much easier on himself if he had decided to go in a more commercialized direction…but he stuck to his guns instead, and continued to develop his own approach. The end results speak volumes on behalf of what he’s capable of. I’d be the first to admit that even I wasn’t entirely sure of what the heck he was up to on my initial spin through Solopsi Radio back in 2016, but throughout the years he’s more than convinced me that he’s had a plan all along, and been focused. I listen to a track like “Cassettes” and marvel at how dialed in he is to his vision now. I still don’t expect everyone out there to ‘get it’ of course, but this dude really has created his own world of sound, 100%. Listen to that guitar solo around the 3:45 mark too will ya? It’s such a subtle & understated moment of brilliance. He’s singing clearly and with conviction…the hooks aren’t typical by any stretch of the imagination, but they are effective, and the more you listen to “Cassettes,” the more you’ll want to hear it again. There’s an insane amount of work put into the drums you’ll hear throughout this record too.
Two of my favorite things, “Pink Floyd & Dinosaurs,” together at last! “Burning candles in reverse” is a great line to have included here…I not only dig the imagery and think it would make for a great moment in a video, but I also dig how it gives you some food for thought too. I’ll be real with ya…when it comes to Herman’s music, following him down the rabbit hole would take a much more skilled ear than the two I’ve got attached to my face, and no amount of weed is gonna help me get to that spot where I’d totally understand what he would mean by having a song like this called “Pink Floyd & Dinosaurs” – he might just be messing with us, and we’d never know! Good tune though…this cut’s a bit mellower, and I dig it. Composition-wise, it’s no less involved or intense in its demands than anything else you’d hear in the man’s catalog…Herman puts a ton into what he does & the effort is something you’ll always appreciate. I dig it when he adds in the piano into the background like he does on this tune, it adds a layer of melody you can always depend on, that grounds us & allows him to get wild with the rest of his instrumentation.
“Introvertabrae!” I see what you did there Herman, you sly dog you. Great title. For real! I dig wordplay. This is the kind of track that…good lord…am I saying that in singular? Martinez is playing like, three tracks in one here. So yeah…of course that’s fucking nuts and extremely tough to pull off, but I’d reckon he’s done that pretty successfully here. I’ll put it to ya this way…I just mentioned how the piano/keys on “Pink Floyd & Dinosaurs” gives you a layer of something to hold onto…and on “Introvertabrae,” it’s almost like the polar opposite. Sure, it’ll START that way…but you just wait y’all…eventually, it’s the background layers that begin to shift and move around like a kaleidoscope, and before you know it, you’ll forget which end is up. This would probably be right up there with my favorites for Herman’s lyricism though…he’s got some really incredible lines threaded into the fabric of this track, and they start immediately. “I should have done all the things but I only did some” made me chuckle a little bit, while also instantly sending me into a self-reflective state. Do any of us get to do more than some? There’s no way I’m leaving this floating rock feeling like I completed the mission…I’m always going to feel like there was something else I could have done with the time I have. Even IF I maximized every moment from here on in, I know there was still another forty some-odd years where I didn’t…and like…fuck me, right? What do you do with that? Can’t be “burning candles in reverse,” as much as I like the idea. All-in-all, the more I listened to “Introvertabrae,” the more I was convinced this was not just one of the trippiest tracks I’ll hear this year, but one of my favorites on this record as well. I keep listening to the background elements & thinking to myself, ‘how does he come up with this stuff?’
So here’s the rub. When you have music that isn’t as defined verse/chorus/verse or built on typical hooks, things can sound similar, even under the best of circumstances, no matter how different things might actually be. As I got into “Plot Armor,” I was like, hellz yeah, that’s an incredible tune. And then throughout the week as a I listened, I felt like…wait…have I heard this song before on another album? Is he reworking material and I haven’t been paying attention? So then I got paranoid and threw on a couple of Martinez’s old records, just to be sure this was an original tune. Sometimes paranoia is a nice problem to have. Anyhow. “Plot Armor” is pretty much fucking mind-blowing if you ask me. The different things that Herman has done with his guitar and production throughout this song should win the guy an award or two – and yep, I love what he’s done with the piano set deep in the distance once again as well. His music continuously plays like the best psychedelic trip you’ve experienced, and on that level, it’s a pure warped joy to listen to. Unpredictable too. Things might sound similar, or remind you of this or that tune from Martinez’s catalog, but even in feeling that way the music is still likely to hit ya with a tremendously unpredictable vibe that somewhat forces you to just go wherever the song is gonna take ya. The instrumentation and sound selection…it’s just purely fan-freakin-tastic. As you head towards the third minute and he goes instrumental for a moment or two, everything you’ll hear is so seriously adventurous, ambitious, and filled with mysterious vibes that it’s truly nothing but intriguing.
At his best, “The Secret Few” reveals why the guy’s music is such a badass thing to experience and listen to. From the staggered timing, to the incredible use of production, the stunning writing & composition, and the off-kilter-but-beautiful harmonies he chooses to add in…it’s simply a smorgasbord of different sound at work, and an audible clinic on how to go about doing things in ways other artists would never dare. Now…don’t get me wrong – being this artful with music rarely ever helps the degree of accessibility and I’m definitely not claiming that’s the case here either, though I genuinely wish that were the case. If interesting music was appealing to the masses, I’d be having entirely different conversations than the ones I’m having each and every day. Listen to that spot around the 1:45 mark though will ya? Listen to the lefts and the rights…listen to the strings and the piano come together…listen to that insatiably killer guitar tone bending space & time around ya…”The Secret Few” has one of the most kickass sections of sound inside of any song you’re gonna hear this year, straight up. It “doesn’t have to make sense” – just go with it, and y’all can thank me later for buying the ticket so that you could take the ride. Guy’s mind works on a whole other level, but he’s got the skill to match.
“Codons” is a solid instrumental cut…I’d listen to Herman spiral out like this all damn day and never complain. That being said…I know that the average everyday listener would practically feel like they’ve run a marathon trying to keep up to this guy – and we’re only SEVEN songs of eighteen in total into Immortal Jellyfish. Does it help that “Codons” is less than two minutes in length, or does it make the record feel even longer as a result of keeping tracks like this included? Would it be the same album without it? These are questions beyond my pay grade – I’m just here to tell ya what sounds good, and dammit, “Codons” would be pretty tough to deny in that regard. Herman is JAMMIN’ hard on this cut, and the resounding combination of commitment & conviction you’ll hear in this song is really quite something to experience. I might even have it right up there with the best of the best here personally.
So it’s not “Codons” for me – I’d keep that. As for “Unintentional Comedy” – I’ll admit, I think I’m more on the fence with this one, but this is the first track in the lineup where I’ve felt that way. Told ya folks – it is tough to get your way to the finish line in an eighteen song lineup without feeling like there’s a tune or two along the way that didn’t really need to be included. The problem is, even though I’m not as sold on “Unintentional Comedy” overall, the attention to detail from Herman still gives you a ton of reasons to pay attention to this song. Like…listen to that spot around the 1:50 mark will ya? Gorgeous! And it’s equally creative. This is almost like what you’d imagine PM Dawn would sound like if they were to cover a Herman Martinez song…and yes, I actually mean that in a good way! It might seem like “Unintentional Comedy,” but I freakin’ love that band & they were groundbreaking hybrids! I might personally go back and forth over whether it should or shouldn’t be included into a set-list this massive, but I do appreciate that it brings out a totally different dimension of Martinez’s sound. At the end of the day, there’s value in that. Doesn’t always equate to being right for a record, but there’s always value in exploring your skillset as you push the boundaries of your own creativity to see what the heck you’re really capable of.
“Like Statues In Imaginary Cities” felt like an evolution of Herman’s music, or a logical progression from what we’ve heard in the past as he moves into the present of his career. I feel like he’s got a quality hook in “everything we want to be, time has made us” – I really like the piano/guitar combination in this song and the level of mysterious melody he’s creating as a result – and I felt like the way he flipped the switch and surged into the most intense moments of this song was a really clever idea too. There’s an aspect of Martinez’s music that is so consistently haunting and mesmerizing to listen to…and at its most graceful, precise, and organic like you’ll find on “Like Statues In Imaginary Cities,” it’s really amazing to listen to. The only album I’ve ever really felt like I could compare Martinez’s music to beyond his own is that feeling I get when I listen to the very first solo album from Chris Cornell…it’s just got that inherently haunting sound to it that clings to your bones long after it’s stopped playing. Not sure if that’s appealing to everyone or just me, but that’s the way I hear it and I’ve never gotten enough of that. Even though Herman’s songs are radically different, there are similarities in the songwriting & within the production.
He’s put in these really rad, short, instrumental jams…and most of’em are more perplexing in terms of why they remained so tiny considering the awesomeness they put on display. Like “Codons” or even the record’s title track, some of the shorter moments have been the best…and it really does make you wonder why Herman chose not to expand songs like “Midnighter” even further. That being said, I’m pretty notorious for not only being greedy when it comes to wanting MORE from the music I listen to, but I’m also known to settle for whatever it is I can get too. So if “Midnighter” just peeks its way over two minutes, then so be it – I still dig what I hear and I’ll love it all the same. It’s a quality tune. I don’t know that it quite reaches that same degree of staggering awesomeness that we heard on “Immortal Jellyfish” at the start or the wild innovation of “Codons” later on, but I feel like “Midnighter” brings about a real smoothness and balance to this moment that pretty much every listener could get behind.
As for the next two tracks on the record, obviously I expect that EVERYONE out there already knows how I feel about’em, because clearly EVERYONE reads these reviews I write, right? Me, me, me! Alright, I will absolutely settle for all seven of you dedicated readers out there…like I told ya earlier, I’ll take what I can get. But excuse me while I go and get myself another beer outta the cold box downstairs while you all reflect on my past feelings on “Defacto Protagonist” and “One Hit Wander” by clicking here in the meantime. Rest assured, I’d feel the same about them now as I did back then, and given that there are EIGHTEEN FREAKIN’ TRACKS on this record, I’m sure you won’t mind if I speed things up by citing my previous review instead of re-explaining everything that I’d said before. Trust me y’all…I listen to music so much that by the time I write about something, I’m positive I can stand behind every word long into the future. I road test these motherfuckers. I put GROOVES into this digital material y’all, I promise ya.
“Bonzai Kitten” instantly came out with a unique sound for Herman Martinez, and my ears definitely appreciated that. Not because I haven’t been enjoying myself up to this point – clearly I have been – but I’m always excited about hearing an artist or band expand their sound even further, and I could tell that “Bonzai Kitten” was going to be THAT track for this dude. I’ll be honest with ya…there’s a part of me that still feels like a split single with “Unintentional Comedy” and “Bonzai Kitten” might have been the way to go instead of adding them both to this lineup…but I do appreciate that both songs somewhat break away from Herman’s ‘regular’ way of doing things anti-typically. So like…you know…anti-typical anti-typical tunes. Jesus. This shit is getting highly meta, and very inception-esque. Anyhow – I’m depending on you all to decode what I’m really trying to say…I drink strong beers, apologies. I tried to push past the fact that my own cat of eighteen years just passed away three days ago as best I could to enjoy “Bonzai Kitten” as much as I was supposed to, and it seemed to work y’all. R.I.P. Sami Davis Jr. Jr.
Whatever he’s got goin’ on with “LoveNoise” is definitely something I’d continue to explore if I was Herman – this is an outright special gem when it comes to the shorter tracks found on this recording. Decisively different, but still impressively cohesive for how different it really is from the rest – I feel like there’s a whole album of this kind of stuff just waiting to be written by Martinez. Almost in a light Funk, Trip-Hop, or Jazz-like vibe, “LoveNoise” brings a completely new dimension of sound to his work, and I’m 100% here for it. Hopefully he is too! I say bring back “John Travoltrons Theme” and tunes like this, and that’s the direction for the next direction for Martinez y’all. Alright…reality check – that’s probably a tall ask…he’s got his thing, and the majority of what you’ll hear on Immortal Jellyfish proves that it’s not usually this…but this…THIS is something undeniably badass dear readers, dear friends. I’m loving what I hear on “LoveNoise” and feel like Herman would make up one half of the raddest Trip-Hop duo you ever heard in your life. I say enlist someone badass from the underground like hidingtobefound & starting making that groundbreaking collaborative album yo!
Here at song fifteen, “You Are” makes a case for Martinez still finding new ways to innovate his signature sound enough to keep ya entertained. I kept going back & forth on this one if I’m being truthful with ya. Sometimes I felt like it was one of Herman’s best, and other times I wasn’t entirely sure that it fit this record, or perhaps moved the needle enough in a different direction warrant another cut that’s largely built on much of the same recipe, despite sounding more unique in the context of this set-list. Like I was tellin’ ya earlier, musically, I feel like Herman always generates enough diversity…vocally, he kind of falls into familiar patterns, which end up making the material seem more similar than it is based on the way he sings things. The main hook of the chorus comes out pretty noticeably different here, and I dig the timing/way he sings that alongside the music; it’s seriously brilliant, and memorable too. So don’t get me wrong, there ARE differences in a song like “You Are” that are still revealing new things on Immortal Jellyfish, and that matters in a record this long. And I like the haunting beauty that Martinez sings with too – I’m simply saying that it remains the biggest opportunity for his music to evolve even more, and it’s moves like he’s making in the chorus of “You Are” that prove that to be true. That’s an inspired vocal melody, and a very smart one at that. Herman might not always be about the hooks when it comes right down to it, but “You Are” flexes one of the most universal you’ll find in this lineup of songs. It’s a part so stunning there’s no way I could have tossed this outta the set-list either. If I’m not mistaken, it’s kind of a song about a song…or a song about making music, is it not? The last thing I’d ever do is claim I’ve got the inside track on Herman’s thought-process, but I might be right…
Much to his credit, Herman’s execution has never dropped one iota through this whole lineup of songs, which essentially gives each and every one of’em the chance to land in your ears and/or be your favorite of the bunch. “MacGuffin” brings out the dreamier side of his vibe, and I dig that. I’m gonna stand by what I’ve been saying all along and point out that even though I’ve clearly enjoyed the material on this record, even I’d admit that Immortal Jellyfish is one seriously monumental listen for the ambition of its scope and the length of its time. I’ll readily concede that it would have been tough to figure out which tracks to cull from the lineup, but for the benefit of not wearing out potentially listening ears or the brainwaves guiding them, I’d have found a way I think. Sometimes you gotta be brutal, but when the material is stuff you’ve worked on as hard as Herman clearly has, the task of pairing things down becomes outright horrific – who could make such harsh choices? We’re all so close to what we do. Should I pair down my articles to a rigid 1750 words? 3000? You get the point. YES, I should, but NO, I more than likely won’t…ever…because I don’t edit myself very well either. Would more people read my shit if it were shorter? Absolutely, YES. The same applies to making music on the whole as well. Doesn’t mean that I’d do it or that I’d personally prefer it…I’m speaking on behalf of the masses more than myself in making this point, and a hypocrite I most certainly am. “MacGuffin” almost takes Herman into Blues-like terrain…and though I wouldn’t ever normally advocate for that, I really like the results we find. I also think it’s one of his best vocal performances too. Still some similarities in there of course, but when you have a truly signature sound like he does, it’s extremely hard to shake that. Regardless, I think he really found ways to tap into some of his greatest moments on the mic inside of “MacGuffin.”
“Innerchild” might be the closest I came to being sure of a track I think Martinez could have been without – and to be honest with ya, I still really dig what I’m hearing! Again, pair it with “LoveNoise” and good ol’ John Travoltron from his past music, and we’ve got something to work with. Here in the context of Immortal Jellyfish, I felt like “Innerchild” paled a bit by comparison to how much is involved with every other song on the album, and that by the time things kick into gear at forty-five seconds into this 1:27-long track, we’re already in the process of wrapping things up. I do appreciate its lighthearted sound…I think songs like “Innerchild” do help brighten things up for Martinez in that regard, which he genuinely needs in his material at times…but…yeah…I don’t know if I heard anything in “Innerchild” that felt like the album completely needed it, or that it pushed its lineup forward. A good tune by any measure…heck, an A-side on most independent albums out there perhaps even…but here surrounded by the extraordinary songs on Immortal Jellyfish, I feel like “Innerchild” could have waited for the next bus to catch instead. If ya feel totally the opposite, I’d fully understand – like I was saying, there are great things about it from its crystalline beginning to the way the song thickens up at its mid-point – but even in a case like that, I’d argue that you’d still want another three or four more minutes, wouldn’t ya?
I know what you’re thinking though. You’re like, lighten the fuck up Jer @ SBS – eighteen tracks is a GREAT thing and we should ALL make albums that long! What we REALLY NEED is a song that’s over ten minutes long…at track eighteen…after all we’ve heard so far – am I right? Detect the sarcasm y’all!?! I could see from the size of the WAV files I received for Immortal Jellyfish that Herman had saved a massive cut for the finale…I knew what I was eventually in-store for. Anyhow. Added length is never a bad thing if you know how to use the space, and Martinez does reveal one of his more melodically ambitious tunes at the end of this album. Obviously it wades further into Progressive terrain…you don’t find songs that would span over ten minutes outside of that genre and Jazz…so there’s that to consider if you’re the average everyday listener out there – chances are, “Changing Colors While Dreaming” is going to be a level or two beyond most folks. I really enjoyed the mesmerizing middle of this tune, and felt like it was offering me a real peaceful, mellow vibe as it stretched over the five-minute mark…and yet, I knew it would only be a matter of time before Herman got rowdy in contrast. Not even thirty seconds later, the man’s gettin’ all kinds of rambunctious and riffin’ on some of his most adventurous sounds, fueling the latter half of “Changing Colors While Dreaming” with wild instrumentation spilling through the lefts & rights of your speakers. I’ll give him this…even though I’d still feel the same way that I felt at the start in listening to such a GIANT record, I don’t feel like there’s actually a song on this album you wouldn’t enjoy if you dig on what Herman Martinez does…it’s seriously cohesive overall, and that in itself is quite the achievement. “Changing Colors While Dreaming” puts its ambitions over the top, almost rubbing it in at this point, as if to yell “ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?” in its massive finale tune – and it’s obvious that this last song basically plays like a whole next record in itself with all its twists and turns…but it does indeed provide the conclusive ending you’d wanna hear in an album this size. You know things are over once you reach the end of “Changing Colors While Dreaming,” and that’s a good thing too. It’s not easy to create a definitive ending on such a long album, but he’s done that. All-in-all, I gotta hand it to the guy, he’s put in a tremendous amount of work, the art & the effort speak volumes on their own behalf…for an album THIS BIG, it probably shouldn’t be as good as it truly is if I’m being real with ya. The authenticity of Herman Martinez continues to shine…no one out there has a sound like he’s got anywhere in the scene right now, and if you dig what he does, there’s a lot here for you to love.
Immortal Jellyfish is coming soon – find out more about Herman Martinez from his official page at Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/herman_martinez_artwork
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