Canadian songwriter Christina Martin has launched new single 'Storm', the rousing title track off her latest album, and announced over thirty-five tour dates in Europe Fall 2023. This single, the fourth of the album, is a triumphant and graceful anthem, rising from delicate beginnings to stratospheric heights, and showing Christina’s trademark ability of taking the personal, and making it universal.
The single’s origins lie many years ago, sparked on the night Hurricane Juan hit the coast of Nova Scotia in 2004. Initially inspired by walking home through the storm-lashed streets, it was many years before the song ran to completion. By that time, it’d evolved into a heartfelt musing on hindsight. A reflection on how all the experiences we go through, the good and the bad, the sunny days and the storms, all contribute to the person we become. As ever, Christina wields her unique talent to take her own personal experiences, and deliver them in a way that can speak profoundly to so many.
The first minute of the track is unashamedly fragile, with Christina’s voice breezes lullaby-gentle over sparse, sonorous piano chords, with synthesized soundscapes churning in the distant background, like we’re caught in the tranquil eye of a raging tempest. Then as the song progresses, the wind picks up and we’re carried away. Steady drums, surging guitars, and the album’s trademark sweeping strings all join the party, raising us up on a rousing crest of emotion.
Minors and majors battle it out, fitting the core theme of good and bad experiences all mixing together to forge onwards. Then at our halfway mark, Dale Murray’s lead guitar flies in to lift us off our feet, a soaring arena-rock eruption to really take the song into the stratosphere. By the end, all these sonic elements are blended in together, jostling against one another yet perfectly in harmony. The lyrics are tastefully uncomplicated, better to grapple with the key themes. Using the imagery of storms, gales and lightning, Christina muses on memory and past trauma. “I sifted through debris and now appreciate the view” she sings, reflecting on how the bad experiences of our past are still part of who we are, and our feelings can change through the lens of hindsight.
The song, as a title track, works as the perfect cornerstone to the wider album. Reflective, elegant, it speaks of trauma and upheaval, the album’s central spars, yet comes out as ultimately optimistic. It unites all the album’s key sounds - Christina’s songbird vocals, chiming pianos, growling guitars, that thumping heartbeat percussion, and those ever-present euphoric strings. An anthem about discovering your own strength, and the power of your past, it’s a regal unifying centerpiece.
'Storm' has an accompanying music video, directed by Matt Charlton. Shot at the Rebecca Cohn Auditorium in Halifax, it’s a glimpse behind the scenes and evolves into a full blown performance with the musicians featured on her upcoming new album. Matt explained, “I wanted to make something that explores how much time, thought, and effort Christina puts into her music. I think she's really an outstanding artist, but it's also inspiring to see all the work she does to make that art come to life. This video was inspired by seeing her go through that process for her amazing new album.”
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