Jess Makler (unslump.substack.com)
Horse girls, poetry bros, and introspective circumlocutory overthinkers rejoice: Billie Marten’s fifth studio album, Dog Eared is out, and it’s swell! This one is for looking out of car windows, yearning quietly, and laying on the floor as you ponder the slow passage of time.
Titled after her love of books and reading, Marten describes a dog-eared book as “an image in my head that is very worn and thumbed-through… I guess I feel like that sometimes.” The album oscillates between quiet reflections on hurt, love, stillness and embracing change, marked by jazz-influenced instrumentation, full band sound, and Marten’s stunningly warm vocals.
Marten toured this year opening for Tennis on their farewell tour, hiding bookmarks at local bookstores along the way. I was lucky enough to catch her in Cleveland, Ohio (where dreams truly do come true), and was blown away at her full band sound despite only Marten and her guitar being onstage. Marten has the rare quality of being able to capture an audience, siren-like and impossible not to become enraptured by. Her voice is medicinal and her lyrics contain impossible wisdom, despite the UK-based artist being only 26 years old. Marten’s music is rooted firmly in the earth.
Dog Eared was recorded in Brooklyn, New York with producer Phil Weinrobe (who has previously worked with Adrianne Lenker and Buck Meek). The album was recorded with live takes, intuition, and no headphones in the studio. You can feel the “aliveness” of this record - it’s like you’re in the room with Marten and her band.
Standout tracks include “Crown,” a reflective track brimming with dense emotions of longing and exciting electronic instrumentation, “Clover,” a track about imposter syndrome and anxiety marked by an arpeggio reminiscent of Weezer’s “Sweater Song,” and “Leap Year,” which tells the fictional story of a couple who meets every four years, longing for a future together.
Dog Eared is gentle, evocative and interesting-- it’s an album I can’t seem to put down, much like a good book.