Sons of Martha – A Nightjar Calls and the Art of Living

Sons of Martha – A Nightjar Calls: London’s Sons of Martha make music that sticks to your ribs. The kind you feel in your bones the morning after, like the echoes of a great night out. I got caught up in their latest single, A Nightjar Calls, which dropped on February 28, 2025. The weight of wisdom, the pull of nostalgia, and just the right amount of bite left me amazed.

The Making of A Nightjar Calls

Josh Beach, the band’s vocalist and songwriter, wrote the track in the spring of 2023. And it’s not about chasing youth or pretending time isn’t marching forward. It’s actually about facing the mirror, and realizing the clock doesn’t stop for anyone. Inspired by As You Like It, the lyrics lean into life’s grand show. That moment when you realize the final act might be closer than expected. But don’t mistake it for a funeral dirge, okay? Because this is a song that nods at the abyss, then orders another round – just like that.

The band – Tim Buckland on guitar, Steven Spencer on drums, Stephen Morgan on bass, and King Otto on piano/keys – took Beach’s idea and gave it muscle. Buckland’s expansive guitar work dances around Morgan’s smooth basslines, creating something spacious with a presence that fills the room. It’s the kind of sound that makes you stop mid-sentence, tilt your head, and think, Damn, these guys know what they’re doing.

Sons of Martha – A Nightjar Calls: Influences and Sound

If The Smiths, REM, and The Go-Betweens ever got together for a late-night jam session, A Nightjar Calls would fit right in. There’s the melodic charm, the poetic weight, and just enough grit to keep it from floating away. Throw in some Lemonheads looseness and a touch of Leonard Cohen’s weary wisdom, and you’ve got a song that walks the line between introspection and defiance.

The band digs deep for melodies that stick, pulling the whole song forward. Just the kind of craftsmanship that makes a song feel inevitable.

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Recording in Crouch End

The band cut this one at Crouch End Studios, a place with history oozing out of its walls. The Last Dinner Party had been there a month earlier. The Weave’s setlist was still taped to the mixing desk when they walked in. The kind of studio where cables snake across the floor, coffee cups balance on amps, and creativity lingers in the air like the ghost of every great session before it.

Sons of Martha – A Nightjar Calls: Live and Loud

Sons of Martha step onto the stage like they own it. Just like they’ve been doing this forever. They hit the O2 in Islington on January 28, tearing through a set that left the room buzzing. No frills, no cheap tricks, just music played like it actually matters. Next up is Camden Assembly on March 29, 2025. Another night, another stage, another room full of people about to get their money’s worth.

Years of Playing, Years of Friendship

Josh and the drummer have known each other since school. The bassist was a university mate. The guitarist has been around for over 25 years. This is a band built on years of shared experiences, late-night jams, and an unshakable love for making music. Every song carries that history, every note tells a story.  A Nightjar Calls carries a simple message: life is fleeting, but the moments within it are worth holding onto. One song, one night, one memory at a time.

Find more and support the band by checking out their music and updates on Spotify, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok.