The new STARFLYER 59 record 'Lust For Gold' is out on all streaming platforms today.

 

In the early ’90s, as his solo debut was gestating, Jason Martin lived at home with his parents in the suburban sprawl of Riverside, CA, or by its area code the '909'.

Martin would frequent his local record stores, patiently waiting for the latest batch of import singles, EPs, and LPs from his favorite UK bands: Ride, Slowdive, the Stone Roses, Pale Saints, MBV, Catherine Wheel — devouring obscure B-sides and deep album cuts alongside the “hits.” 

Over this period, Martin was also penning the songs that would become the first Starflyer 59 record. While the album is officially untitled, fans affectionately refer to it as “Silver,” due to its monochromatic metallic cover, while its follow-up, a second untitled album, is referred to as “Gold,” for similar reasons.

These first two efforts firmly cemented the band in the history of the genre of noise pop or shoegaze. The pair are often mentioned in lists of the greatest shoegaze albums of all time — for reference, see Pitchfork, Stereogum, and Revolver, which found room for “Silver,” in its top-11 list.

Over the years, the band’s sound would morph and develop, and ebb and flow into other genres. Now, with the release of their 17th studio full-length, “Lust For Gold,” Starflyer harkens back to those early days.

Martin, who has always peppered his lyrics with nostalgia, explains, “It’s a longing to return to youth, to that time when music felt new and exciting, where it felt like the future was wide open.”

The record also pays homage to those early monochromatic offerings with a cover and surrounding album art by Jason Pickersgill, who also created the artwork for the first two records.

Lastly, “Lust,” returns to that early sound with layers of sludgy guitar riffs, and more noise and distortion than has been present on an SF59 record for a long while. 

“I wasn’t trying to recreate the past,” Martin said, “as much as I was just trying to feel excited about the process.”

“Lust For Gold,” is rounded out with help from Steve Dail (Project 86) on bass, Rob Withem (Fine China) on additional guitars, Frank Lenz (Richard Swift, Damien Jurado) on strings and percussion, and Charlie Martin (The Rocky Valentines) on drums. 

The record is available Aug. 16th via Velvet Blue Music in true ’90s fashion on 12” vinyl / compact disc (in the old school long box) / and cassette. It's preceeded by the single for '909' out on 7/19.

Fun fact: The lust for gold is real … as one of the 12” records will have a golden ticket inside (Willy Wonka style) redeemable for an actual ounce of gold!