Martin Smith’s brand of rock music is defiantly loud and uplifting. His powerful style of Christian synth rock is starkly different from his contemporaries. One of the UK’s most prolific songwriters, Martin Smith’s 30 year career as a composer, musician, and vocalist has seen him enjoy significant success and pomp. He’s played at global venues, even performing to a tremendous crowd near half a million in Hyderabad, India. Perhaps most renowned for his work as the frontman of Delirious?, a contemporary Christian rock group, Smith is now carving out a delectable career as a solo artist in his own right.
On ‘Dancing In The Fire’, Smith is as glorious as ever, creating an opulent and sumptuous piece of stadium rock that consistently delivers songs that are progressively more grand and loaded with pomp and passion. From the ever energetic titular track to the more evocative and phenomenally arranged ‘Fire In Your Eyes’, you’re left consistently read to sing along. Perhaps my favourite track is the single that Martin released earlier. I had the pleasure of listening to Trouble back in September and its stayed with me since then. Backed by the illustrious Kingdom Choir, Smith’s bellowing vocal performance and emotive performance make this song turn even the most areligious into someone who’s finding that little bit of faith. ‘I’m going to sing my way out of trouble” has you singing it at the top of your voice over and over again. Music is what I place my faith in, and artists like Martin are able to inject it with so much warmth that maybe there might just be a higher power worth surrendering yourself to.
Dancing In The Fire is a masterful collection of rock anthems that are grandiose in their arrangement but grounded in their emotions. It’ll help you find beauty in the everyday, faith in the mundane, and light in the darkness.