Real Good for Free: New Martha Kronholm Music

One of my favorite CDs of 2008 was the sparkling disc from Princess Mabel, “Listen Quick (‘Cause I Don’t Know Much).” The duo of Frank Moscowitz and Martha Kronholm crafted lush, gorgeous songs – eight of ’em in under 15 minutes – and each was a jewel, a musical haiku.

Now Kronholm is following up with a solo effort – a six-song, digital-only collection titled, “I lived in Brooklyn too: Summer 2007.”

And she’s giving it away.

You can download your free copy – and quite a bit of other fine free music – from the fine folks at Collar City Records in Troy.

So how does Martha describe her music?

“These songs are about the usual stuff, love and fear and loneliness and capitalism,” she says. “Please to enjoy.”

And enjoy I did, especially the opening “Platform,” “Nowhere” and the highlight – “VCR,” a seductive, half-spoken, half-cooed, jazz-tinged ballad about isolation in contemporary society.

The raucous, distortion-laden freak-out of “Private Jet” doesn’t really seem to fit in with the rest of the tunes here, but otherwise this set is a solid winner.