"Coloradoan Isaac Martinez just released a country-tinged album, sounding like the son of Beck when he released his country record.” – KVOQ/Indie 102.3

“I still listen to ‘Time Passes’ all the time. I can’t believe it hasn’t broke 1,000 plays yet, but I’m working on it.” – LA singer-songwriter Hank May 

Isaac Martinez is an indie/alt guitar player, singer, and songwriter currently based in Denver, CO. Despite drawing influence from all corners, Isaac’s story so far is similar to the origin stories of artists such as Alex G, Mitski, & Car Seat Headrest, having recorded and released many albums up to this point in a variety of names and band settings. 10 Country Songs is his first full studio production under his government name.

If you’re hearing an Isaac Martinez song, chances are it’s been years in the making. His new album, 10 Country Songs, is the cumulative result of a year’s worth of work in Denver and 12 years of sweat and memories. Isaac is proud to call this his first “studio” release, but it is actually his 13th album release, solo or otherwise, if you count the 12 or so DIY home studio releases Isaac has released since August 2016–for context, May 2016 was the last time Radiohead released an album!

Born in Denver but mostly raised an hour south in Colorado Springs, Isaac first entered the world of performance playing violin in a youth symphony, as well as playing his original songs in a band with his father and his father’s TV station coworker in a true-to-form garage band. After graduating high school, Isaac absorbed the Americana and math rock local to the mid-2010’s most exciting Springs scenes and quickly got to work creating his first record, with the help of Colorado musicians—members of bands like Eros and the Eschaton and We Are Not A Glum Lot.

Following this, Isaac repeated this experiment over and over in the Springs and Los Angeles (where his family has resided since 2016) and eventually found kindred spirits in Springsians Stephen Patrick & Logan Snowden, with whom he formed True Fiction, a Brockhampton & Beatles-inspired Springs pop-rap “supergroup” with a tumultuous 4 year history and a string of releases that found a small group of superfans but ultimately left its members wanting more.

A few years and a few more experiments later, Isaac entered the studio with a bit of spending money and a plan: 10 Country Songs, an album of folk, indie, country, and ‘90s alternative-inflected songs inspired by conversations with his wife Zoe, the birth of their first child, and his relationship with God and the chaotic political landscape and music culture he was raised up in. Recorded with members of Springs groups Glitter Gore and Briffaut on the rhythm section and engineers responsible for Bon Iver, Waxahatchee, and Green Day releases, 10 Country Songs is the first album in a planned series of 5 albums called TOURNAMENT.