Something happened

Singer/songwriter Martin Sexton continues to perform serious minded tunes on his latest five-track EP, Fall Like Rain. That doesn’t mean the material is heavy. Sexton leavens his compositions with calls for transcendence, such as on “One Voice Together”, where he preaches joining together to make the world a better place. Or he uses crooning vocals, such as on his “Happy Anniversary” celebratory tune that expresses the love he has for his wife. He even lets his guitar do the talking, such as on “Fall Like Rain” when the reverberation of the precipitation is heard in the strumming of the strings.

Sexton’s songs tend to wander like a babbling brook, but his music percolates more than sparkles. That’s okay to a point, but after just five tracks it sounds as if one has heard it all before. This impression is reified by the final cut, a cover of the Buffalo Springfield classic, “For What It’s Worth”. Something may be happening here, but it sounds like Sexton isn’t exactly clear on what it is. His rendition doesn’t seem fresh—it’s just different, but without a point. Does he mean times haven’t changed or they have? This is not clear, but in the end, one doesn’t care that much either way.