Martin Kerr Shares New EP, ‘After The Apocalypse’

Today, poetic Canadian folk-pop artist Martin Kerr is excited to share his endlessly playable new EP, After The Apocalypse, out via Nettwerk. The UK-born and Canada-based singer-songwriter acutely focuses on the little things in his music – the small details of his surroundings, the looks exchanged in passing, and the unspoken intention behind our words. He narrates moments as if they’re happening in real-time and brings these nuances to the surface, superimposing unshakable singalongs over darker, expressive folk instrumentation and inventive indie production. After a remarkable year of unforgettable shows, opening for Dermot Kennedy, Walk Off the Earth, and Billy Raffoul, he’s ready to magnetically pull listeners into his world on After The Apocalypse. After The Apocalypse is available on all digital and streaming platforms here.

Martin shares, “When you listen to my songs, I hope you feel acceptance for yourself. There’s power in continuing to determinedly love yourself and one another despite our shortcomings and the chaos around us. I hope you sing along and feel you’re not the only one.”

WATCH THE OFFICIAL VIDEO FOR “I’M SORRY I’VE GOT NO IDEA” HERE

A string of unforgettable moments led Martin to this point. After The Apocalypse is a showcase of the duality within Kerr’s songwriting – hope and despair, personal and universal, material and spiritual – as he continues to grow. On the glimmering single “Moonlight,” he sets the scene, paints a vivid picture, and sings, “The wallpaper is peeling, the bathroom faucet drips, and those curtains need some healing, but the moonlight makes its way through the rips” over a delicately plucked guitar melody. Martin shares, “I was staying with friends in this old house outside Nashville. They kept talking about all of these things they needed to fix. I was like, ‘This place is amazing!’. It got me thinking about how it’s like that in relationships, too. When you live in it, you see the flaws in yourself, each other, and the situation. But delving into the mystery of our souls and dreams is more important than trying to fix the little things that bug us.”

In the soulful single “An Old Prayer,” nostalgic whimsy dissolves into a stark plea, “Are we too far to repair?” Then, while representing the other end of the spectrum, his last released single, “Curious Heart,” pairs a bold, joyous vocal with upbeat rhythms. He takes a moment to remind, “We got love, and it’s always gonna be enough.” Then, there’s “Effortlessly,” as his voice barely cracks a whisper over a faint acoustic guitar, allowing his words to resonate. “Come walk with me down to the bridge. We’ll hang our feet over the edge. Drop a stick and watch it go. If only you and I could float like that. Effortlessly. That’s how I wanna be.”

His observations drive the narrative in “I’m Sorry I’ve Got No Idea.” Plainspoken yet poetic metaphors provoke nostalgia, hope, and regret as he sings, “Like a daisy in a sidewalk crack, we get stepped on, and we grow right back. Like the prayer beads in a taxi cab, we keep on swinging while the world goes mad.”

Now with a new exciting catalog, Martin is celebrating the release with a handful of shows across Canada, including stops in Saskatchewan at the Sask Jazzfest on July 13th, Taste of Edmonton on July 18, Comox on July 2, JubeFest in Calgary on Aug 17, and Nova Scotia at the Stan Rogers Folk Festival. A full list of tour dates can be found here.