Customer Reviews

Dial M

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Is that a corny review title? I don't know and I really don't care. I once reviewed an SF59 album on Amazon when I was in high school, and 7 years later my coworkers found it and made fun of me because of just how highly I speak of Jason Martin and his work. His is seriously some of the best music out there.

This album is great--it's a bit toned down from the poppy fun of "My Island," so be prepared, but it feels right. Martin evolves a bit from album to album, and this feels like the proper next step. Absolutely pick this up, give it a listen, pop in "Americana" or "Gold" next, and ask yourself if any other musician on the scene is producing such diverse and engaging work.

The Ghosts of the Future 7" box set gave us a taste of what was coming and the release of the full-length confirmed what we were all thinking, Dial M is the best Starflyer 59 record since Old. While My Island and Talking Voice vs. Singing Voice all had their bright spots, neither of them had me returning to them on a consistent basis. The songwriting is top notch and Jason's voice sounds better than it ever has.

Back in the day, I snapped up all of SF59's early stuff, but I lost interest after "Americana". Then I heard "Minor Keys" on Tony Shore's Obviouspop podcast, and I was immediately hooked again. Jason Martin channels Johnny Marr perfectly to craft a contemporary Smiths-style song that both transcends anything Morrissey/Marr wrote and is the single best track Jason has ever recorded. This isn't surprising, given the fact that the Smiths' The Queen is Dead is a self-acknowledged favorite of Jason. The rest of the album maintains that high standard. Jason is finally comfortable in this style of pop/rock music, with confident vocals that are clearly discernible, and beautiful melodies that are recorded with ringing guitars. It's nice to hear an artist unashamedly craft a collection of fine pop tunes, albeit with thoughtful lyrics. This is the one SF59 album I own (and I own all of them) that I return to again and again.

I have been a Jason Martin fan since Silver and Gold, although I have only bought his more recent stuff sporadically. As one of the other reviewers mentioned, the sound of this album is similar to The Brothers Martin. In fact, some of the songs would fit in just fine there. Most of the songs are upbeat, even when the lyrical content is not. Vocals are very clear and upfront, which is pleasant. There are a lot of keyboard parts, and several of the songs have a considerable amount of electronic sounds. Others have the familiar wavy, surf guitars.

Overall, another solid album with predictable quality from Starflyer 59.

I didn't enjoy this one as some of the others, but it may just need to grow on me. It is still a good album, just doesn't have the draw as some of the others. Maybe it isn't distinguishable enough from the previous albums. I loved IWIN, so it isn't just because it is new.

Once again Jason puts out an album entirely new yet still Starflyer. He seems to have used more synths on Dial M than ever before which is pretty sweet. This album is not as good as My Island...then again it hasn't had a chance to grow on me yet...

Not sure why there's 2 versions of the album, but buy the other one so you get the bonus track "Magic." This is another solid Starflyer album and probably more enjoyable than My Island.

'Dial M' is an excellent next album from Starflyer. It continues the progression that we've seen over the years, save for 'Portuguese Blues'. If you enjoyed 'My Island' you will enjoy 'Dial M'.