Guy puts out two killer power pop albums in the late 1990s. Then nothing. Until now. Friends I’m here to tell you that Martin Luther Lennon lives! And it’s like no time has passed at all. His new single “jfkha” is a pretty special little jem of a song. It starts lowkey but verse by verse you can feel the pressure building until a great groovy melodic hell breaks loose in the chorus. This guy sounds like all those super poppy, slightly discordant bands from the nineties, acts like the Eels, Adam Daniel, and, er, Martin Luther Lennon.

It appears that this new musical sighting of MLL 23 years after this last album release may just be the beginning. There’s a GoFundMe page up to help offset the recording costs of this single – let’s hope an oversubscription might lead to more new MML releases. In the meantime, why not reacquaint yourself with those now classic Martin Luther Lennon albums from 1996 and 1999, Music for a World Without Limitations and Escape to Paradox Island respectively. From the former I’m partial to the crashing guitars that kick off “Happy Girl” with its new wave other Lennon-y vibe while “No Waiting” sounds so early Joe Jackson minus the snarl. From the latter I love the piano-driven Ben Folds-ish “Only Love” and the tight power pop delight “I’m a Little Time Bomb.”

The return of Martin Luther Lennon is a wonderful, welcome surprise. Buy this single now. Let’s keep MML coming around.

Photo courtesy Larry Gordon.