So ten years ago, when the world was young and fresh and most of this website's readers were still watching good non-anime cartoons after school, Jason Martin and co. were gearing up to release their first album, a self titled minimally packaged cd which was basically several tracks of the wall-of-noise guitar sound with 7 words per song, give or take. Much has changed over the past 10 years. Many of you readers reached and surpassed puberty, stopped listening to (or perhaps started listening to) "crappy" music, and Starflyer 59 has released a plethora of albums.
Fitting that the capstone on ten years of releasing albums would be a re-recording of several unreleased songs from the midpoint of the band's career. The songs on I Am the Portuguese Blues were written after Americana and before The Fashion Focus, since then the band's lineup and direction has changed considerably. Followers of Starflyer are used to frequent sound changes, the band rarely stays consistent in sound other than fitting the "mellow vocals" category, but IatPB is by far the most strange diversion they have taken to date.
It should be noted that in the previous sentence, strange has nothing to do with "weird." No, what is strange about IatPB is that it is entirely accessible, clean sounding, loud rock. There are no shoegazing guitars as in their pre-Americana era, nor is there the introverted calmness of the post-Fashion Focus era. Just a handful of songs that show 10 years of existence can give Jason Martin a little confidence in his voice, but if this is what they have culminated into then Starflyer fans may be a bit turned off. Leave Here A Stranger was called the band's equivalent of Pet Sounds due to its pop exploration and quirky sensibilities. I called Old their Dark Side of the Moon because of its cynicism buried under experimental rock and roll. I Am the Portuguese Blues is their attempt at experiencing the sophomore slump they never had.
Some may see this dumb rock sound as a maturing for Starflyer, some may hope it will force Jason Martin to develop some energy on stage and abandon his stoic presence. For my sake and the sake of everyone who wants this band to be noticed by the music listening public, I hope this is just a detour.
2.5/4
Other coverage for this album
Decapolis May 2004Reviewed by Mike LeechThere comes a time in the life of anyone who's ever heard Starflyer 59 where they realize the truth... This band is way better than everything! Better than stuffed-crust sausage pizza. Better than winning the lottery. Better than your wedding day or the birth of your first child. Way better!! I wish I could say that I came to this realization at a fairly young age--that I have grown up listening…Opus 2004Reviewed by Jason MoreheadThe monochromatic covers are back! When Starflyer 59 first arrived on the scene in the mid-90s, as part of the much-needed Tooth & Nail "revolution" that took Christian music by storm, the only thing as astounding as their music (I still remember the first time "A Housewife Love Song" cleaned out my ears) was the band's album covers -- solid sheets of metallic color that immediately jumped out…The Phantom Tollbooth 2004Reviewed by Trae CadenheadOne look at the cover of the latest album from longtime indie favorite Starflyer 59 makes it pretty obvious that this album is a return to its roots. With a solid off-blue color and no text, the longtime Starflyer fan is immediately reminded of the days of silver, gold, and red. Of course, those days could never be returned to in full, but Jason Martin and company make a pretty good go at it…The Phantom Tollbooth 2004Reviewed by Kevin MathewsSF59 fans disappointed with the epic stadium-rocking stance of Old and are still waiting for the fragile shoegazing Americana of Leave Here a Stranger will not be pleased with this ten-track quickie release. However, I would encourage you to scratch beneath the hard rock veneer of I Am the Portuguese Blues for you will discover that Jason Martin and company have taken the current modern rock…Similar sounding releases
2003Black Rebel Motorcycle ClubTake Them On, On Your Own
2001Rock 'n' Roll Worship CircusBig Star Logistics
2002Aeroflop8-Track Demo
2004They Sang As They SlewGet Well
1994OasisDefinitely Maybe
1997Common ChildrenDelicate FadeMore from Starflyer 59
1997Americana
1995Le Vainqueur
1994Silver
2002Can't Stop Eating
2000Easy Come, Easy Go
2005Talking Voice vs. Singing Voice
