If you surf the internet for Starflyer 59 you will find more and more interviews with Jason Martin where it sounds as though he is very close to hanging it all up. He sounds tired and bored...of everything: the music industry, being in a band, recording.
Leave Here a Stranger is to Starflyer 59 as Pet Sounds is to the Beach Boys...or so some critics would have you believe. And Martin says that Pet Sounds was the sound they were going for. But about the only similarity between the two is that both are melodic pop records recorded in mono. After that, don't even bother looking for comparisons.
Musically, this album is pleasant enough, but there are more comparisons to the Beatles than the Beach Boys. Acoustic and electric guitars and the typical droning Starflyer sound. Lyrically, most of the songs are about music, and being in a band, and touring...and in this case, music is possibly a metaphor for life, with titles like "All My Friends Who Play Guitar," "Can You Play Drums?," and "When I Learn to Sing." A far cry from the Starflyer songs about failed romance of days past.
After a while, all these songs start to sound the same, with the same beat running throughout. Standouts on the disc include "I Like Your Photographs" and "Night Music."
Overall, this is not a bad album. But it suffers in comparison to past Starflyer 59 efforts. Maybe Martin is trying too hard and just needs to let loose and have a little fun.
3 tocks
Other coverage for this album
ReAL Magazine 2001Reviewed by Nolan K.Here's what Jason Martin (Starflyer 59's guitarist, vocalist, songwriter, and backbone) is up against: eight years ago the mysterious blank-silver cover of Starflyer's self-titled debut appeared on the music-store shelves. The album, commonly referred to as Silver, became an instant favorite, established Martin and company as a musical force to be watched, and proved once and for all that…The Phantom Tollbooth 2001Reviewed by Jon KortebeinSome songwriters, like Terry Taylor or Bob Dylan, have a love affair with words. Others, like Brian Wilson, place their fascination in the world of sounds. SF59 leader Jason Martin falls into the latter category, and he exercises this fascination more obviously on Leave Here a Stranger than on any other SF59 recording so far. The result is a beautiful record that is at points catchy, dreamy and…The Phantom Tollbooth 2001Reviewed by Alex KlagesA quick glance back at Starflyer 59's career demonstrates a band which is truly a work in progress. The first album was a noisy, layered sonic landscape, with guitars everywhere. Flash forward eight years, to 2001 and the release of Leave Here a Stranger. We still have the noisy, layered sonic landscape, but what a difference time makes! On Starflyer 59's latest outing, the band is now a…Similar sounding releases
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