JOSEPH MARTONE - Endeavours

There's a new light shining through the cracks of "Endeavours", the second album by Italian-American singer-songwriter Joseph Martone. A sense of hope pervades the nine songs on a record cut at the Auditorium Novecento in Naples and Al Mare Studio in Ravenna, boasting prestigious collaborations ranging from Fabio Rondanini of Calibro 35 on drums to Francesco Giampaoli on bass, already active with Hugo Race Fatalists and Sacri Cuori, as well as sessions at Studio Cimetière in Quebec, an enchanting place where Martone further strengthened his partnership with longtime friend and collaborator Ned Crowther (The Fernweh, Smokey Angle Shades), but also with Mike Dubue and in particular the late, much-missed Taylor Kirk of Canadian folk-blues band Timber Timbre.

That's not all. "Endeavours" also features the voices of Rebecca Noelley and Marianna d'Ama, enriching the fabric of an album that once again conjures up noir atmospheres in the vein of Nick Cave alongside desert-tinged textures reminiscent of Calexico. It's as if Martone were a gunslinger with a guitar, dropped into a Sergio Leone film - a parallel that finds its justification in the images of the video accompanying the single "Lying Low", directed by Antonio Zannone with cinematography by Antonio De Rosa, who received a special mention at the 2017 Nastri d'Argento awards.

While "Time Is A Healer" is a piano ballad that drifts slowly through a hall of mirrors and a chorus that disarms the heart, the opener "Overboard" kicks things off with a mystical, sensual air - to borrow a phrase from Battiato - despite the shadowy mood that envelops Martone regardless of the moment. What follows is a soaring, full-bodied chorus, brimming with hope, that immediately sets the tone. One could also invoke the most elusive and sly Paul Anka over the notes of the title track, but that would just be another reference thrown in to offer some vague coordinates, since this time around Martone amplifies his melancholy crooner approach with verses and choruses that turn their own sorrow into little more than a passing hook, before turning their gaze - and their pick - toward far brighter horizons, nowhere near as dark as the cover shot might suggest.

Kirk's twelve-string guitar - sadly, he passed away shortly after the release of "Endeavours" - is the icing on the cake of a record with no dips, played with grace by phenomenal musicians and written by a singer-songwriter at the height of his artistic maturity.

Martone lives outside of time, and his music shows it. He's an unshakeable craftsman of a vintage, richly aged folk sensibility. On this occasion, there are even flashes reminiscent of Mark Oliver Everett during his "Blinking Lights and Other Revelations" period, or of Mark Linkous, if you prefer, guiding the listener into territory Martone had rarely explored before, cementing what is undoubtedly his second fully realized album.

Ride the wave of great music

Add OndaRock to your favorite sources on Google Discover. Don't miss our reviews, milestones and latest news straight in your feed.

Follow on Google

02/06/2026