Martin Rossiter is best remembered as the frontman of Gene, a London band that rose to fame during the ‘90s Britpop movement. Garnering numerous comparisons to the Smiths, Gene enjoyed moderate commercial success and accolades in the press, starting with 1994 debut single “For The Dead” and the following year’s LP Olympian, which peaked at Number 8 on the UK charts. Their music was darker than that of their contemporaries, and the often heart-wrenching lyrics made Gene somewhat like a British ’90s version of the National.
Gene split in 2004 after a lengthy career that spawned four solid studio albums (Google “You’ll Never Walk Again” if you’re unfamiliar with the later stuff). Since the band’s demise, Rossiter has settled into a quiet life out of the spotlight before reappearing in recent years as both a solo artist and a member of the Brighton-based band Call Me Jolene. In December, Rossiter released his first solo record, and the independently released Defenestration of St. Martin was a relative success. Longtime fans and critics praised Rossiter’s return; he still writes the songs to make us cry. The Defenestration of St. Martin is a heartbreakingly gorgeous record featuring nothing more than Rossiter and his piano.
Defenestration’s first single, “Drop Anchor,” came out in November, and roughly eight months later we finally have a follow-up in “No One Left to Blame.” The track is a melancholic piano ballad, its lyrics weaving a tale of
disappointment and failure, and the video made its debut this week.
The clip is both haunting and chilling – and we mean that literally, as Rossiter was filmed singing the tune in a walk-in freezer. It’s a simple concept that makes for an incredibly powerful video.
The Defenestration of St. Martin is available on Bandcamp.