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After seeing Jodi Martin back in February I was determined to get some of her albums. So I asked for, and got, a copy of Twenty One Stairs for my birthday. This album is only available by mail-order directly from the artist, who was away on tour, so my present was a little belated... but well worth the wait!

The first 6 tracks are "recorded live at The Sando" (The Sandringham Hotel in Newtown (Sydney)). These performances feature a bigger sound than I experienced at Martin's Canberra show, where she performed solo and was occasionally joined by a drummer. Twenty One Stairs features Jodi Martin's vocals and guitars, accompanied by drums, Hammond organ, bass and backing vocals - the last two are handled by Martin's sister Robyn. These songs sound great. The arrangements are simple but solid and the production of the live tracks is excellent for a small, independent release.

The opening track Love That Survives has a reggae feel and celebrates a friendship that survives despite things not being necessarily simple. The next song You Showed Me How is a similar celebration of friendship, with a straighter arrangement. Missing The Point has a slightly funky feel and the lyrics take an interesting look at misunderstandings in a relationship. This is followed by Things Don't Always Go To Plan, a beautiful ballad - and probably my favourite live track on the album. Hold On is another strong performance, and is followed by Robyn's Song - a quite personal tribute to Martin's sister. This is the final live track and is a solo performance.

The first of the album's 4 studio tracks Too Easy is a lovely song. It features Martin on acoustic guitar and vocals, accompanied by some Hammond organ, as well as her own backing vocal overdubs. The lyrics look at how superficial emotions make it easy to stay in a problematic relationship. Too Easy is brilliant - my favourite song on this album.

Although the other 3 studio tracks are also very good, I won't spend any more time picking this album apart. I'll have another listen instead!

Jodi Martin's lyrics are personal, and intelligently crafted. She writes about family, relationships and life in general, and does so from personal experience. She also seems to live her music - the performances are from the heart and full of emotion.

I'm very happy to have stumbled across Jodi Martin's music. Her music is influenced by an interesting range of rootsy musical styles, including country - however, my general lack of appreciation for country music isn't triggered here at all. I'm going to add her other 2 albums to my collection. I hope I enjoy them as much as I've enjoyed this one, which has been on semi-permanent rotation while I've been working for the past few weeks.