"Australia was one of the only places that actually got the first album, the one with Total Control on it," Martha Davis recalls. "That album was how I always envisaged the Motels: more spooky, more cinematic, less polished. Different producers influenced that later, but that's the direction I always lean."

Maybe that's why this spare, spooky, cinematic album is Martha's first under the Motels' name in 22 years.

Clean, Modern and Reasonable marks the first international act on Australia's premier legacy label, Liberation Blue, and the neat completion of a circle that began when the Motels had their first surprise hit so far from home in '79.

Total Control is the natural centrepiece of a spellbinding experience. Dark acoustic versions of Counting and Celia will also haunt the memories of fans who made the Motels' debut a cult classic. The wealth of subsequent hits is as rich as you'd expect – but best leave other expectations at the front desk.

"I sat down one day with my guitar and came up with 15 songs in really quick, different, weird arrangements," Martha says. "A lot of them remained as you hear them, but then me and (producer) Matthew Morgan and (keyboardist) Nick Johns got together and – I don't know, it just happened.

"My favourite is Suddenly Last Summer – that's how dark I like it," she says. "Take the L (Out of Lover) is hilarious. That song has kind of been the bane of my existence. People love it, but it always seemed so over the top and goofy to me. Now it’s this crazy, creepy, sexy samba and I really love it."

Among the other gems are an exquisite, lost B-side, Some Things Never Change, played as a plaintive piano/ vocal dialogue; and Angel, a melancholy return to Martha's last album, So the Story Goes. A brooding rock version of the Carpenters' most chilling hit, Superstar, is the sole cover.

Clean, Modern and Reasonable was recorded at the Burnpile, Martha's house in Portland, Oregon. "The whole house has become a studio now," she says, "with mics in hallways and the basement, drum kit in the living room, a lot of bizarre instruments and old stuff lying around. It's a wonderful, creative place."

So much so that this album was recorded in the midst of two future Motels albums – one of which, Beautiful Life, is due for release within a few months.

"There's also a third album that's sitting there saying 'Where did everybody go?'" she says. "But this was too much fun. The opportunity to go back through all those years, to listen to those songs now and realise they're almost more suited to now, in some instances. To hear them like this is wonderful."

The Motels

Timeline

1971   Martha Davis forms the Warfield Foxes in Berkley, California

1978   The Motels are born in LA

1979   Total Control reaches #7 in Australia

Self-titled debut album sells gold in Australia, US, Canada

1980   Second album, Careful breaks US Top 50

1982   All Four One yields smash singles Only the Lonely and Take the L

1983   Little Robbers sells gold; Suddenly Last Summer hits US Top 10

1985   Final Motels album, Shock

1987   Martha's first solo album, Policy

            Don’t Tell Me The Time is an Australian hit

1997   The Motels featuring Martha Davis resume touring

1998   No Reservations – The Best of The Motels

2005   Martha's second solo album, So the Story Goes

2006   Live album, Standing Room Only

2007   Liberation Blue acoustic album: Clean, Modern and Reasonable

            Martha's Motels play Countdown Spectacular 2 in Australia

 

1 Counting 2 Celia 3 Take The L 4 Only The Lonely 5 Superstar 6 Total Control 7 Danger 8 Some Things Never Change 9 Suddenly Last Summer 10 Shame  11 Angel