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Starflyer 59 were Los Angeles shoegazers that got their inspiration from the
worst excesses of Lush,
Ride and the
Pale Saints.
Starflyer 59 (Tooth & Nail, 1995),
Americana (Tooth & Nail, 1997) and
Fashion Focus (Tooth & Nail, 1999)
are mostly exhibitions of sound for the sake of sound.
Jason Martin, the band's composer, steers the band towards soulful
ballads on Everybody Makes Mistakes (Tooth & Nail, 2000).
By far their best album, it boasts splendidly calm bursts of emotions such as
A Dethroned King.
Easy COme Easy Go (Tooth & Nail, 2001) is a double-disc anthology
plus some rarities.
Starflyer 59's keyboardist Richard Swift
launched a solo career.
Continuing the trend towards a calmer, gentler sound,
Leave Here a Stranger (Tooth & Nail, 2001), recorded in mono,
showcases Jason Martin at his most romantic, with even a hint of
Roy Orbison (Night Music) and plenty of keyboards (Josh Dooley)
instead of the guitar buzz of the first album.
Old (2003)
sounded like an album desperately seeking a new style,
First Heart Attack coming closer than anything else to achieving the goal.
I am the Portuguese Blues (Tooth & Nail, 2004) collects unreleased
material from 1997.
The prolific Martin drifted towards orchestral pop on
Talking Voice vs Singing Voice (2005), while
My Island (2006) seemed torn between
old-fashioned power-pop (The Frontman)
and funk-punk a` la mode (Nice Guy).
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