Please Don't Take Me Back

Did someone from the band put this on here? I love this sort of sound, but these kind of bands are a dime a dozen these days and this isn't exceptional. Amusingly, spotify recommended another band, Muncie Girls who have played with people from Martha, which is a band I do enjoy, in particular Lande Hekt. She is amazing. Go listen to that instead. Given how this kinda sound is dime a dozen, this band has had no impact on the industry at all, it's not really essential that you listen to this. My personal rating: 3/5 My rating relative to the list: 4/5 Should this have been included on the original list? No.

I didn't mind this, didn't love it either. For all the counterculture cred suggested by the band description and history, I thought the sound was pretty mainstream alternative, without much vestige of supposed punk influences.

This album’s so 2D, I’m surprised it didn’t come with a pair of cardboard cutout headphones.

This album is tons of fun. Every song is just undiluted mainline power pop punk and it hits like crack for me even if some of the lyrics might be a little eye roll worthy.

Kind of a obscure British band. So did not know what to expect. The chance in vocalists is a fun variation. It's rock, but a lot of indie too. Enjoyed it very much, and let's hope they break through to mainland Europe too.

I bloody love this album. In fact, I was wearing my Martha tshirt whilst listening. I don't know what it is about Martha but they really get me going. I think their lyrics and style just fit my demographic perfectly. It's that style of grown up po-p-punk, emo indie and taking that same style and feeling but it's grown up with the audience,

Please note - I did not submit this album, although they are from literally about half a mile from where I live. I wouldn't like to swear to it, but I'm pretty sure I could walk to where this album cover was photographed within about twenty minutes. That's Durham cathedral in the background, there. To my knowledge, I've not met anyone from Martha but they are one degree of separation from me, so it makes me genuinely happy to see that people seem to enjoy them. Despite this, I've never listened to this album in its entirety before. Has very strong A vibes, and that's not a bad thing.

Favorite songs: "Baby, Does Your Heart Sink?", "Beat, Perpetual", FLAG//BURNER, Please Don't Take Me Back, Hope Gets Harder, Total Cancellation of the Future Least favorite songs: Take Me Back to the Old Days 5/5

Never heard of Martha before, but this album is full of bangers. I especially liked "I Didn't Come Here to Surrender"

Another great find. I had never heard this album before but it was quite the banger.

This was very good. Reminded me a bit of my favorite band, the Replacements, though a bit more pop-sounding and less punk sounding. 4 stars.

It's punk, but not really punk. It's pop, but not really pop. It's a fourth studio album, but also a fourth studio album. It's a fast 35 minutes. But it needs to be more songs if it's really going to be a punk album... so it's more pop than anything else. I like it, though.

Rating: 7/10 Best songs: Baby does your heart sink, flag//burner

Great indie rock album with a lot of energy and fun in uptempo songs. My favorites are “Beat, Perpetual”, “Every Day the Hope Gets Harder” and “Baby, Does Your Heart Sink?”

I’ve been doing the user contributed list for about three weeks now and this is the first band I hit the follow button for on Spotify to make sure I come back and listen to another record. Something about the sound really resonates with me.

Tagging this for later. It's too new to make sense on a list like this, but the sound is right up my alley and I enjoyed the rotating vocals.

Soild British indie album, right up my street but never heard of these guys before, think I’ll come back To this one, good choice.

I always find singers with strong regional accents very charming - after hearing so many fake-American voices in British bands, it’s refreshing to hear a group who are indisputably from County Durham. Martha are from a village called Pity Me (incredible name) but their brand of pop-punk is surprisingly positive, with a bit of a Rosenstock vibe but also a Puzzle-era Biffy Clyro approach to some of the hooks. It’s nothing too new or groundbreaking, but it’s really enjoyable and uplifting stuff

I got severe Jimmy Eat World vibes from this at first blush and a Replacements after-taste when I listened again. Deliciously unexpected.

Shiny and splashy, bright and flashy. One likes that many young people are seem to be choosing newer rock or bands (see also Amyl + Sniffers, recently served up in the completed user lists), to encourage one and other oldsters that rock 'n' roll is still in good shape. One likes this record for that reason – these young things rocking true, with purer energy than one has now and an admirable sincerity. Beyond the despairing "total cancellation of the future" (great line), one can't discern anything specifically socialistic or anarchistic or vegan in the music; and it's not even too angry feeling or mopey for that matter – the Sorrows of Young Werther in day-glo (sorta), title cut suggesting classic youthful confusion and self-struggling. Not at all dystopian, it all seems rather more straightforward and much more fun and bouncy, eager to please, even less experimental or severe or offkilter or different by intention than one would've expected for a band famous for their political commitments. Plus, there's a Huey Lewis reference – incongruous, to put it mildly. Anyway, dig it, not only because one could be safely considered a fellow traveler in terms of the collective spirit and think it would work well on list proper, replacing NIN or Marilyn Manson or Offspring or Prodigy, because thoughtful and optimistic (which at least this records sounds like) dissension trumps shock value anytime. Feels like one might be patting earnest young Martha on the head ... which wouldn't be an inaccurate description of how one feels about this lot.

Reminds me of an album from 30 years ago in the most pleasing way possible.

What I like about this one is that it challenges what one may think a vegan / queer / anarchist band should sound like. Apart from that there's nothing in that bubbly and chipper pop punk LP that I haven't encountered in a slightly different form before, with the best albums of Get Up Kids, Superchunk or Built To Spill. The band also namedrops Big Star, Heart and Replacements, sure, but I guess those references are also part of that genealogy taken in a broader sense... Of course, this up here is an old-timer's POV. Younger folks having a blast listening to this style and not necessarily knowing everything in said genealogy are not in the wrong. They're enjoying life, and good for them. It's just that older folks can't have fun in the same way as the one they had as teens'. Besides, all those major chords and singalongs over them have a strong "déjà vu" effect for me, of course ("déjà entendu"?). Which obviously can spoil the whole thing to an extent. But maybe in the right set of circumstances, like during a gig or a party, I could truly dig those tracks? Also, and to return to the first lines of this tentative review, I have to admit that the manner in which the lyrics sometimes seamlessly mingle the personal and the political is worthy of admiration here. Rather than directly giving political messages, some of those songs choose to tell us personal experiences instead, but they are experiences from folks having a certain set of political beliefs that seeps into their daily lives and emotions, thereby making said experiences feel universal. This is a smart move, and it's actually smarter than what those lyrics let on first, at face value. And incidentally, this here is also probably why the band name-dropped Billy Bragg of all people among the artists who influenced them... Not sure that's enough for me to select this record in my own 1001 keepers. But if I don't *officially* leave the door open to it, I'm pretty sure I'll remember Martha's name starting today. And then, five or ten years into the future, who knows what may happen? One of the main strengths of revolutions -- whether personal or political --is that you rarely see them coming... 3.5/5 for the purposes of this list of essential albums. 8.5/10 for more general purposes (5 + 3.5). Number of albums from the original list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 465 Albums from the original list I *might* include in mine later on: 288 Albums from the original list I won't include in mine: 336 ----- Number of albums from the users list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 33 Albums from the users list I *might* select for mine later on: 43 Albums from the users list I won't select for mine: 88 (including this one) ---- Émile, quelques réponses au dessus..

A cool modern pop punk album. Loads of familiar tones in this one.

Obscure and British are 2 things I typically love and there is a lot to love with this!

Suprised to see this here.

a pretty cool new album to me. Martha the band not just the person, have a style of reinvented 90s alt punk mixed with the style of vampire weekend. Overall it’s a pretty fun recent album that has a little bit of everything. The changing of singers keeps the album fresh yet keeps the same string style instrumentally. I’d revisit this and definitely check out their other stuff. 6.8/10

Indie pop, pop punk, power pop. Ni fu ni fa.

Feels like standard issue alt-pop. Pleasant and inoffensive, but forgettable.

Thought this would be a slower singer-songwriter effort, so I was pleasantly surprised by the squeal of feedback that started the LP. Can’t say I’m a fan of the male vocals (too Jeff Rosenstock for my taste), but the guitar and other instrumentals are solid and make this a fun indie outing overall.

Kind of a throwback for 2022. Feels like a lot of the sort of indie rock of the mid-2000s or early-2010s. Didn't hate it, but didn't stand out at all.

This is someone’s friend’s band but it’s fun in a modern pop rock punk kinda way

Not bad

Shoegaze pop for the 2020s

Very listenable leaning heavier on the pop side of pop punk. I enjoyed it although I don’t think I’d put it on my 1001 list. But I wouldn’t mind being at one of their shows at all!

Never heard of this before. Going by the cover... something folky? Ok no it's pop punk. I don't know much about this genre, the closest I ever listened to was like blink 182 in high school and I know these guys will be 2 orders of magnitude removed from that in 2022, but that's my frame of reference. But it's doing a pretty standard pop punk thing, which is hard not to tap your foot to. Ok! Overall, this was that kinda childish pop punk I never really got into, mostly because it pretty much only has one speed and gets old quickly, BUT this only went for half an hour anyway. Thank Christ someone understood the assignment. Nothing groundbreaking, but catchy enough and knew not to overstay its welcome. 3/5.

Okay, I won’t

Didn't love it, didn't hate it

I enjoyed the punchy, power pop vibe of this album, although the quality of the vocals was really hit or miss for me. Doesn't really bring anything new to the table, but it's a fun listen. Fave Songs: Beat, Perpetual; Please Don't Take Me Back; Hope Gets Harder; Baby, Does Your Heart Sink?

It's ok- sounds more like an Australian boyband I know but it's fun and honest. I can't bring myself to give it a poor score.

Yeah this grew on me a little. At first I wasn't sure but by the end I felt it picked up quite a bit. It wasn't particularly good overall but I didn't hate it either

It's enjoyable and very 2000-esque, but nothing much more.

Not what I was expecting! It was pleasantly pop punky but nothing really stuck with me.

This cover art sucks but the music is ok

Love listening to the newer music people suggest. This is very likable, high energy. Not super special though. Enjoyable not essential.

Swearin' and Los Campesinos vibes. If you enjoyed the lead vocal switch ups, check out Fall Into the Sun by Swearin'.

I did enjoy the regional accents but I agree with the person who said that this type of album is a dime a dozen. Nothing stand out for me. I’m sure if this was my jam and I heard this album first then I would love it, much like those who heard Denis Leary before Bill Hicks.

But formulaic

Pretty decent

Real nice

Huge Tigers Jaw vibes

This album is pretty fun overall. It's solid pop punk with good production and solid songwriting. This type of pop punk has never been my thing, so it's hard to give it too high of a rating, but I also don't really have any criticisms of it. It's just not really my thing 3/5

One the bright side - it's good to know that there are less known, underground bands around with a distinct sound and established fanbase. But unfortunately, why it has to be so boring? Every music video was at least 10x more interesting than the song itself. Cool idea, but just average at best.

October 7, 2025 HL: "Hope Gets Harder", "Baby Does Your Heart Sink?", "FLAG // BURNER", "I Didn't Come Here to Surrender" Hey, that's a guy singer, his name isn't Martha! Oh, they also have a lady singer. Hey, her name isn't Martha, either! I get the sense this band are more nostalgic for the 2000s than I am rn, which is saying a lot, but they end up cutting a decent enough pop punk album nonetheless. There are some departures from their main sound, like the jangle of "Surrender" and the lullaby tinkle that closes out the album. I think if anything brings me back to this album, it's the overall warmness & coziness (that goes against the snowy cover). A 3.5 at least Also, unexpected connection with the original list, they recorded their debut album with the guy from Hookworms. What Hookworms could have been if that guy wasn't an (ALLEGED) abuser

Not bad this one, didn't know what to expect. But it's very mainstream, nothing exemplary.

Not a big pop punk fan, but this was okay.

Like a first draft of a demo, with seemingly no thought put into polishing the songs up or having an actual producer help them out. This is endearing at points, but at other times I just wish they had spent more than the run-time on writing and recording. An interesting album I would never have heard without it being here, but falls a long way short of the standard required for the top 1,001 (or even 2,002) albums.

Like a shit McFly.

Nothing on here that blew me away.

It was good, but didn't blow me away

Given the group’s counterculture image, I was expecting rough edges and risk-taking. Instead, the sound leans heavily toward the safe and formulaic. It’s decent indie-pop-punk with a few catchy moments. The DIY spirit is admirable, but musically, this one felt more like background listening than something essential.

I just assumed this was American. One of those bands that you might nod along to low in the undercard at a festival but need to write a few songs.

The hierarchy of power in the Nickelodeon cartoon intro music industry is about to change.

This is very generic power pop/pop punk that's about a decade too late. I'm glad you can love this, OP, but this was not an album I needed to listen to before I died.

The truth is, nothing transcendental or relevant seemed to me; their most listened to songs seemed generic and lacking emotion or hype. Another indie that is indie for a reason.

Almost everything I don't want to hear crammed into the first 30 seconds of the first song. I have a 1001 reasons not to listen to this album.

Lord don't move the mountain. Give me the strength to listen to a 35-minute pop punk re-re-re-revival indie project made during COVID. The band is queer, vegan and anarchist? Then how come this is the most boring piece of music I've heard since yesterday (I got a 2000's pop album). You can be so much gayer, so much more chaotic and so much more vege tables. My life is now post-Martha. I have been guided around the mountain. not bad album tho