A 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. There's a bit of Gary Glitter's "Rock and Roll" in "Underneath," and Bad Company peeks through elsewhere. It's a far cry from Martin's My Bloody Valentine fixation evinced on Silver and Gold, certainly.
Mellotron whiz Richard Swift lifts keyboard tones from the Wings and ELO catalogues, and borrows Lennon's "Imagine" piano for "Old." Lassie Foundation drummer Frank Lenz joins steadfast SF59 bassist Jeff Cloud in the current rhythm section. "There's no big time coming ... no major awards? Well, that's not fair," Martin sings slyly in "Major Awards," furthering his everyday-Joe, working-stiff musician themes.
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 Matt KilgoreStarflyer 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…Similar sounding releases
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