The Bear

As a solo artist, Martin exists in a peculiar space outside the traditional music industry, a place that’s allowed him to remain remarkably pure, if largely under the radar. Eight albums in, though, and he finds himself breaking through despite his best efforts. Take a listen to The Bear and you’ll see why. There’s obvious touchstones from past generations—Jonathan Richman, Randy Newman, the kind of artists who’ve followed their own voice to create unique universes independent of the ebb and flow of the culture at large—but one would be hard pressed to find a contemporary songwriter quite like Martin, who’s released a wide and striking body of music over the last decade: some serious, some humorous, some for children, some definitely for midlife crises, but all with a singular perspective that hits at something bittersweet and human. At the heart of Martin’s work is a plainspoken sense of wonder and beauty and gratitude, a take on life that feels both funny and sad and somehow manages to leave you feeling genuinely okay about the fact that we’re all going to die. “The Bear feels like the kind of album I’ve been building towards for my entire career,” Martin reflects. “I don’t think I’ve had the nerve to be this honest, this autobiographical before, but more than anything I’ve ever written, these songs explain who I am and why I make this stuff.”

On a bittersweet and impressionistic solo album, the former Walkmen member confronts the joys and humiliations of a life devoted to music.

It seems that every discussion of Walter Martin must begin with the obligatory mention of his prior membership in The Walkmen. So with that out of the way, Martin has put together a fine solo career of his own from children’s music, to more adult themed works, to commercial projects.