Jul 25, 2024

Starflyer 59 • 909 • 2024




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

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.

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