Starflyer 59 has been around for quite some time with a loyal fan base who have been getting increasingly harder to identify. Despite hearing numerous projects I am still unimpressed with the output. The Fashion Focus seemed aimless. Easy Come Easy Go, managed to recap an anthology of six years of Jason Martin's work into a collection which was difficult to swallow, mostly because it all sounds the same and is gloomy. Leave Here a Stranger seemed to evoke some sort of Shoegazer Pet Sounds ethos, which had some draw, but didn't offer much in the way of good songwriting, so ultimately fell flat. Two years later Jason Martin finally feels confident enough to output at least an EP worth of material and hasn't seemed to pave much new ground.
The album kicks off with "Underneath" and sounds very similar to something which would come off of Leave Here a Stranger, just kicked up a notch. The opening to the humorously titled, "New Wife, New Life" has an opening which seems to mimic the introduction to Wilco's "War on War," and seems promising but gets very tired. The bouncy guitar riff which is repeated throughout the song would have been nice, but it's just not a good enough riff to build the song around. The title track, "Old" seems to grab from the bottom of the barrel, giving nothing really substantive to put your ears around. The emotion it gets closest to evoking is that of depression, but fails to really even portray that fully. I have to admit that the closing "First Heart Attack" has some creativity, but at this point you're just kind of fed up with Jason Martin's voice. Some voices like Bill Mallonee, Bob Dylan, or Lucinda Williams, are good in a "that's not what a good voice is supposed to sound like way", which is tempting to ascribe to Martin, but ultimately it just doesn't have much draw.
Ultimately Old starts to sound like its title suggests. The few creative bones which Martin has in his body seemed to drown out in an uninspiring voice and less than stellar songwriting. My hope is that Starflyer will try and develop a little more talent as they began to show back in their most impressive album Everybody Makes Mistakes. Anyone wanting to try out this band should probably start there. If you're a Starflyer 59 fan already, if you like their other stuff, then maybe you'll have better luck with Old than I did.
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Other coverage for this album
Decapolis June 2003Reviewed by Tyler BaberStarflyer 59 is a middle child rock band. For ten years Jason Martin and posse have been diligently cranking out album after album for a relatively small (if not elite) group of fans, making them quite overlooked. The band has a history of classic middle child syndrome, with people projecting on the band the identities of older musical siblings like shoegaze ancestors or the classic Christian…The Phantom Tollbooth 2003Reviewed by Trae CadenheadAfter seven full-lengths, six EPs, two 7"s, and a double-disc collection, it's pretty safe to say that in the realm of music, Jason Martin, lead singer/ guitarist/ songwriter for Starflyer 59, is a genius. If all of his previous work was not proof enough, Old should remove all doubt. Old finds Martin with bassist Jeff Cloud and drummer Frank Lenz making the Starflyer 59 record that was always…The Phantom Tollbooth 2003Reviewed by Jeff ElbelA decade into his career, Jason Martin keeps it fresh by paradoxically mining the past. 2001's Leave Here a Stranger explored a working musician's life through a collage of Pet Sounds-inspired production techniques. Now, songs like "New Wife, New Life" and "First Heart Attack" propel Martin's imagination into the future while churning, chunky rhythm guitars dig into classic '70s rock sounds.…Similar sounding releases
2002DuraluxeThe Suitcase
2004Lansing-DreidenA Sectioned Beam
1999Fountains of WayneUtopia Parkway
2001The Lassie FoundationEl Dorado
2005Lake TroutNot Them You
2003Bill MalloneePerfumed LetterMore from Starflyer 59
1998The Fashion Focus
1997Americana
2005The Last Laurel
1994She's The Queen
2001Leave Here a Stranger
1995Le Vainqueur
