Starflyer 59 - The Fashion Focus

Starflyer 59 is like the beat-up stuffed animal you've had forever... you can curl up with them and come back to yourself again. You can listen to them in your walkman, whatever the time of day or weather, and feel refreshed and doubly alive. You will claim them as a personal discovery in your music collection and there will be times you can't listen to anything else. SF59 is one of those bands I cringe to think I might have gone through life and never found. I pray that some day this band will get the recognition it has earned so many times over.

Those guitars come back in a few songs--the forgettable "Days of Lamech" and "The Birthrite," but more notably, in the second half of "We're the Ordinary," unquestionably Martin's finest production. The song drifts along with its cold piano line and monotonous Arp String Ensemble until its end. "Sometimes," Martin quivers, "we don't have a life," and the guitars rush in to fill the space. Gorgeous.

Indeed, the first five songs are some of Starflyer's best, but much of the album seems like filler material and could easily have been left off to make a perfect EP. The band did settle into their groove with the follow-up to this album (Everybody Makes Mistakes), though, and The Fashion Focus is worth the admission price any way you look at it. 3.5 stars.

"A Holiday Song" dares to be perky with it's driving drums and catchy guitar hook. "The Birthrite" and "Too Much Fun" bring back the fuzz (somewhat) that old SF59 fans know and love -"Too Much Fun" clocks in at a very shoegazerish 7 minutes. "The Fashion Focus" shows Jason's skill as a lounge singer (if he needs a second job...). The album ends with the beautifully simple "Days of Lamech". Stripped to just drums, bass, lead, and rythm guitar. Sounds like a full band, but for Starflyer this is "basic". Buy this album just for the killer "Shut Your Mouth" and enjoy the rest.