A clarion call for hard-fought optimism penned during the dark days of the first lockdown, Where There’s Hope, the debut album of singer/songwriter Martin Reynolds, is a winning combination of uplifting pop melodies and honest, refreshing lyrics.

As restrictions penned everyone into their homes last March, Reynolds, the drummer for Tamworth-based grunge/blues duo You Dirty Blue, changing musical direction, grabbed his bandmates 24-track mixer and began demoing the ten tracks that would form his debut album.

From teasing out lyrics during his daily, government approved exercise to recording in any unoccupied space in a busy home, those intimate, largely acoustic tracks on loss, acceptance, mythmaking, and optimism were then brought to life in his ‘sanctuary’ Silky Studios – a rehearsal space that, like many businesses, failed to recover from the catastrophic economic effects of the pandemic.

A heartfelt combination of sixties power pop and unflinchingly sincere lyrics, Where There’s Hope has been described by Counteract magazine as ‘a tonic’ for uncertain times.