| Starflyer 59 | 1994 |
| She's the Queen EP | 1994 |
| Gold | 1995 |
| Le Vainqueur EP | 1995 |
| Americana | 1997 |
| Fashion Focus | 1998 |
| Fell In Love At 22 EP | 1999 |
| Everybody Makes Mistakes | 1999 |
| Leave Here A Stranger | 2001 |
| Easy Come Easy Go (compilation) | 2001 |
Starflyer 59 is made up mostly by Jason Martin, with help from whoever he finds. A quiet band, with a lot in common with other such acts as Radiohead and My Bloody Valentine, almost providing a bridge between the two bands' styles. To me they seem more like the former, but rather than focusing on making emotional music, Jason Martin uses the same style to create some of the most atmospheric music since Pink Floyd's seventies work. Not only that, but Starflyer's music is very melodic, not just Floyd's sound painting style. I own two of their releases and hardly realized it for awhile, but now I've begun to listen and quite enjoy them.
--Nick Karn
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SF59 has absolutely nothing in common with RadioHead.
(reviewed by Robert Grazer)
HIGH POINTS: She's the Queen, Monterry (Lounge Version), She Was My Sweetheart, Blue Collar (Joy Electric Mix). LOW POINTS: Droned (In Love Version).
A relaxing listen. Eight songs and 28 minutes of mostly slow, relaxing tunes. A bit too slow at times. The second half drags a little here and there, especially the closing "Droned (In Love Version)" which is not only a bore, but it's also written in a style far too similar to "Monterry (Lounge Version)" from earlier on the album to be enjoyed at all. "Canary Row" is the only thing on the album that comes close to being a rocker other than the title track and it's a good one, even though it's a little bit short at under three minutes long. A great guitar riff leads "Salinas," a more melodic number, and still somewhat upbeat compared to the other songs here. "The Drop" drags a bit, though, as the album begins to wind down into the (even more dull) closure "Droned."
The first half of the EP on the other hand is excellent. The self-titled opener is moves faster than the rest on the album, but it's still quiet and gives a good idea if Jason Martin's quiet whispers and mumbles of the lyrics on the chorus with "Sheeeee's the Queeen" all drawn out in such in amazingly quiet way. Following is "She Was My Sweetheart," another quiet song, moving slower, but just as interesting as before. A little bit of electronic music comes in "Blue Collar (Joy Electric Mix)," mostly because I think the guy from Joy Electric is related to Jason in some way or another. But the Joy Electric electronics mixed in with the quiet Starflyer style brings about great results. "Monterry (Lounge Version)" is the slowest and most atmospheric on the album. It's a great song just to lean back and close your eyes to as the music slowly plays and you're able to drift away.
All of the songs flow through each other, picking up right where the last one left off, and sometimes the previous song can still be heard. It gives the little EP a good flow, and it could have actually been a conceptual release with the smooth flow and strong mood, but I guess that wasn't what Jason Martin had in mind when he created this little EP. This happens to be the only Starflyer album that I'm completely familiar with yet (I've only listened to Gold a couple times), and while there are some flaws that should be worked out this shows potential, and I look forward to listening to my other Starflyer 59 release.
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