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Album Reviews
Jason Martin cannot put out a bad record. Even the
bizarre attempt of diverting to the pre-Fashion Focus
era with I Am The Portuguese Blues only proved that
whatever he touches turns to gold. Yet for the small
minority that worried about what would come of
Starflyer 59 after the brilliance of 2002’s Old, the
answer lies in a 14-minute EP entitled The Last Laurel.
Presented in a modest (yet ultra cool) card stock
sleeve with a stamped “Limited Pressing” on the cover,
you can’t help but feel that your ears are about to
hear something special. The anticipation is bittersweet
in a way, because The Last Laurel marks the absence of
bassist Jeff Cloud for the first time since The Fashion
Focus. It also marks the first time the band has
released an album/EP that is not on Tooth and Nail
Records (minus the Plugged EP put out by Velvet Blue
Music).
You get the sense that it is the end of one era and the
dawning of something new, and you can’t help but ask
yourself, “Will this era be half as good?” The answer
to the question is in the opening “Softness, Goodness”,
a rough-mix version of a song that will appear on next
years’ full-length. Starflyer 59 is now a two-some.
Martin has teamed up with drummer (and full-fledged
musician) extraordinaire Frank Lenz, and the result is
beautiful. The vocals are sure and crisp, yet keep a
bashful hushed and breathy tone, and Lenz adds
wonderful harmony with his infectious tenor. The
guitars have a slight twang and give subtle nods to
Americana and Everybody Makes Mistakes. This is the
only track linked to the up coming full-length. The
remaining 4 tracks failed to fit the format. But thank
God Martin released these gems. Some would argue
(myself included, to some extent) that Starflyer 59
makes better EP’s than albums. And considering the long
list of must-have EP’s like She’s The Queen, Le
Vainqueur, Fell In Love @ 22 and Can’t Stop Eating,
it’s tough to deny their greatness.
The Last Laurel is the best recording Martin has
released since Leave Here A Stranger, and overall, this
EP probably points back to that recording the most. Yet
I think that as much as this record points back to
previous influences and eras, it mostly points to the
future. So what is the future? Somber pop songs with an
overtly dreamy bent. The wall-of-noise is brought back
in a tamed and matured kind of way. Simply put,
Starflyer 59 has grown up, got married and had kids.
The dynamic works smarter, not harder. “For Us” is
decidedly spaced out, waltzing ballad, yet it reminds
me most of previous work like “I Was 17”. “The Man Who
Will Lead” has a Fashion Focus rhythm with roots in the
60’s. And “Thin As A Needle” is a subtle brooding
number reminiscent of the Old recording. In one word,
The Last Laurel EP is…breathtaking. Okay, so that’s a
compound word. Just shut up and listen!
~Garrett
Johnson
of
grace hotel / theblackandwhitemag
One year ago Jason Martin said that he planned on
releasing two new Starflyer albums in one year. The first
one was the amazing blues-rock of "I Am The Portuguese
Blues" and then it was followed by silence. Each passing
month it became more apparent that the second LP was not
going to be coming, and by the end of the year Martin
admitted that the album would not be released until March
of 2005; following on the heals of that news came the
surprise that they would release an EP independent of
their home label (Tooth & Nail).
Long gone are any traces of heavy blues-rock, replaced by
a return to style, form and feel of Old-era
Starflyer59 - the original blend of shoegazer and
American indie rock. This short EP includes one song
("Softness, Goodness") from their upcoming album, as well
as four songs that did not make it for some unknown
reason. These songs blend together like a misty morning,
flowing in such a pattern that you never really know when
one song ends and another begins, each gently carrying
themselves into the bliss that is Martin and company.
This album is a must have for any music lover, and
because of its limited run it is sure to become a
valuable piece of American indie rock.
~ Samuel Aaron
of
allalom
Jason Martin is the master of fuzzy pop, shoegaze, and
layers of jangly guitars. He proves it once again with a
small group of songs leading into his next full-length of
new songs in 2005. The Last Laurel is a consistent ep
that does not disappoint. With new alt-country tinges and
clean-layered guitars, Martin and Lenz make a tour de force
in music.
The first track on Laurel is "Softness, Goodness."
This has acoustic guitar and slide style guitar, giving it
an alt-country feel. There are beautiful strings that
accompany this song at certain points with light sprinkles
of clapping in the chorus. I really like Martin's vocals on
this disc. It feels a lot like a mixture of his vocals on
Old and The Fashion Focus. "The Man Who Will
Lead" has an even more country feel to it. What saves this
track from being hokey is Martin's vocal styling. His vox
really make the song feel like a SF59 song. I really like
this since this is a self-release disc and it really shows
another side of Martin's musicianship and movement into
different musical directions. I suppose I can hear some
Mojave 3 type influence on this disc with the alt-country
coming into the mix. "The Man" definitely is an extension of
the musical vision of Old and really feels like a
logical extension of that disc. "Thin as a Needle" also
feels like an extension of Old. The drumming on this
ep is perfect and accents Martin's guitar work masterfully.
Lenz and Martin have become a dynamic duo and have made
beautiful music together.
"The Lucky Ones" has Lenz signature keys in it and reminds
me a lot of "Passenger" of off Old. The guitar work
on this song is subtle yet brilliant. I really like the
clean layering of guitars that Martin is doing, as apposed
to the layers of noise and fuzz of early SF59. "For Us"
rounds out this ep with light guitars and claps. Lenz'
signature keys make an appearance again and really bring
depth to the song. This is only 1:39 long, but the track is
fantastic for its length and it really closes out the ep
well.
The Last Laurel is a great, coherent, well put
together five songs. I really have enjoyed Starflyer's
catalog for sometime and I really like the era that Old
has inaugurated. This transitional ep bodes well for
Martin's next release, teasing his fans and, hopefully,
digging up new ones along the way.
~ Jason
of
somewherecold
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