In the fall of 2005, one of the last remaining bands of the glory days of Can-rock, The Tea Party, announced their breakup. Front man Jeff Martin relocated to Ireland, and set about crafting his first solo project. It was no secret that with Canada's burgeoning indie music scene coming to the fore, The Tea Party's relevance was waning. The question for Martin with this record, therefore, is whether he can regain that relevance as a solo artist.

From the first fifteen seconds of Exile and the Kingdom, it's obvious it's Jeff Martin – he hasn't lost his enthusiasm for eastern instruments. But ‘The World Is Calling' is actually the heaviest song on the record. From there, Martin moves into blues/folk easy listening territory; the acoustic ‘Butterfly' features his trademark lyrics of lament (”My love will know end / How I miss my beautiful friend”), while he shines in ‘Daystar', written for his newborn son. The record's highlight is the seven-string guitar of ‘Black Snake Blues', the kind of song Martin hasn't written since the Splendor Solis days.

The downside is that there is little urgency to any of these songs, nothing that really challenges listeners to the degree that Tea Party records always did, nothing that really demands their attention. The instrumentation and production aren't up to Tea Party standards, either. The total lack of angst on Exile and the Kingdom is disconcerting; it feels as though Martin is at a place in his life where he can put the past to rest and enjoy the present, and while this is no doubt healthy for him, and makes for a record that's classy and heartfelt, these songs just aren't as impacting as others from his catalogue. This record breaks no new ground, and is best recommended to fans of The Tea Party's softest material. While Exile and the Kingdom is a labor of love from a talented artist, Martin's time in the spotlight has passed him by. Give him credit, though, for his contributions to Canadian music, and for being true to who he is.
Rate: 2.5 out of 5