March 2026
SoundStage! Recordings—SRMH001
Format: LP
Musical Performance
Sound Quality
Overall Enjoyment
Martin Verrall is a musician and painter based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. According to Discogs, Verrall has released two albums on physical media, Concrete Rivers (2003, on CD) and January Downs (2023, on vinyl). His Bandcamp page lists those albums for download, as well as three others, Escape Show (2009), Spears of Fate (2010), and Yesterday’s Tomorrow (2019).
Verrall’s newest album is C/O the Brain, and it’s the first release from SoundStage! Recordings. The album was recorded, mixed, and produced by Mark Howard, who has worked extensively with Daniel Lanois on recordings by Bob Dylan, Neil Young, and Willie Nelson, among many others. He’s also worked with Tom Waits, and he produced the Tragically Hip’s fourth LP, Day for Night.
Verrall’s lyrics navigate the complexities of modern life and the salvations and mysteries of romance in whatever form it takes. Howard has always been good at creating the right ambience for a recording, but Verrall is himself a master at setting a mood. The songs on C/O the Brain are built around his straightforward rhythm-guitar playing, with the other musicians contributing key elements to help build atmosphere and momentum.
“Copper and Violet” begins with a strummed acoustic guitar, a minor-key riff on violin by Clint Rice, and simple piano arpeggios by Raphael Smith Keelan. As Verrall begins to sing, Gurpreet Chana plays tabla to add emphasis and rhythmic focus to the track.
Verrall’s voice carries an air of authority, of years of observation and thought. It’s a lived-in voice, pleasant but worn enough at the edges to give his singing and the content of his lyrics believability. Raphael Smith Keelan harmonizes on the chorus and adds a haunting touch to Verrall’s plea:
Deliver me from this misery
Deliver me into the arms of ecstasy
“Man I Was” establishes a dark tone as Rice’s violin weaves a melody together with help from Les Cooper’s pedal steel and an overdubbed, distorted guitar line from Rice. Smith Keelan’s soft, melodic piano plays against Rice’s jagged guitar to create contrast and tension behind Verrall’s confidently delivered but restrained vocal:
The sun came out today
But I’m feeling kinda gray
This ragged life a fever sway
The violin and guitar support Verrall’s voice to help underscore the song’s slightly somber point of view, but they shift subtly during the more hopeful chorus. Howard adds some delay and a bit of flanging to Verrall’s vocal on the song, and it creates a slightly disembodied feel.
Howard adds an even more pronounced echo to the vocal on “Gypsy Love,” but his use of studio effects on the album is minimal and serves to help emphasize the spirit and meaning of the songs. Verrall’s arrangements are spare but evocative. “Gypsy Love” uses Rice’s violin in the background, while in the foreground Rice plucks individual violin notes that punctuate Verrall’s lyrics. Verrall’s simple acoustic-guitar strumming is helped along by a firm bass line from Jack Syperek that gives the arrangement shape.
“Fictional Flowers” is probably the most basic arrangement on the album. Verrall accompanies himself on guitar, with Syperek providing a prominent bass line that gives the song a rhythmic flow. Rice inserts an occasional violin flourish, and Smith Keelan adds harmony vocals on the chorus. Verrall’s rough-hewn but tender vocal conveys the world’s harsh realities and the salvation that love holds out for us. The arrangement allows the raw emotions of his vocal to shine through.
Smith Keelan has a soaring, beautiful vocal feature on “Serious Mind” that accentuates the song’s beauty and pathos. Les Cooper’s pedal steel meshes with Rice’s distorted guitar to create a harmonically rich, enveloping background. Rice plays Middle Eastern–sounding melodies on violin during “Sex Magick” that create a mystical air that is reinforced by Smith Keelan’s eerie backing vocals.
The musicians on C/O the Brain bring a tremendous sensitivity to Verrall’s songs. Syperek’s bass playing is melodic and gives rhythmic structure to songs that, for the most part, don’t use percussion. Rice is brilliant and inventive throughout the album, on both violin and guitar. Smith Keelan brings something essential to almost every track. No musician takes the spotlight from Verrall.
My wife and I drove to Hamilton to join SoundStage! founder Doug Schneider and videographer Jorden Guth for a release event for C/O the Brain at Ridiculous, a club in the city. The highlight of the show was a presentation of the full album, with Verrall backed by many of the musicians who had appeared on the sessions. Howard’s recording and production have caught much of the energy and flavor of the group’s live performance.
Precision Record Pressing in Burlington, Ontario, pressed the 180g LP of C/O the Brain. My copy had quiet backgrounds, was flat, and was correctly centered. As Howard noted when I interviewed him recently, he didn’t master the recording. The lacquer was cut from the recording and mix he prepared, with no compression or other adjustments besides RIAA pre-emphasis to the sound.
The resulting LP is vivid and lifelike, in keeping with the goal of SoundStage! Recordings: “Full-Range Sound / Artist Intent.” The music has tremendous depth and richness. As I listened, I felt like I was sitting in the room with the musicians as they were playing.
C/O the Brain is the result of Verrall’s years of observation and songwriting. Mark Howard has done Verrall the favor of presenting his music in a way that serves the singer’s talents. Vinyl lovers will have the pleasure of hearing music presented in remarkable clarity and immediacy. They’ll also get a chance to hear a musician who deserves a larger audience.
. . . Joseph Taylor
josepht@soundstagenetwork.com
