Description
Lust for Gold is the seventeenth full-length studio album by the American indie rock band Starflyer 59, released on Velvet Blue Music in August 2024. The album was recorded at Room and mixed by Bob Hoag. All songs written by Jason Martin.
Featuring Jason Martin on guitars and vocals, Rob Withem of Fine China fame on guitar, Steve Dail on bass, and Charlie Martin drums and background vocals, with Frank Lenz providing percussion.
Nostalgia has long been a running theme for Starflyer 59’s Jason Martin, and Lust for Gold does nothing to change that. The album’s thirty-seven minutes are filled with reminiscences – and no small amount of regret.
Opening single «909» finds Martin lamenting the complications of life and admitting that “the best days of my life were spent in 909” while «YZ80» reflects on the joys of roadtrips and riding dirt bikes with your best friend. But Martin’s bittersweet ruminations ring clearest and cut deepest on «1995», where he confesses that “I never felt more alive than I did in 1995/ When the future felt open wide/ ‘Cause there was life there/ Young friends, Some are gone/ I’ll never see them again.”
But if nostalgia wasn’t enough, Lust for Gold also focuses on Martin’s other pet topic: mortality. Songs like the title track and «My Lungs» could’ve come from the book of Ecclesiastes… had Qohelet used a Fender Jazzmaster and Boss distortion pedal to convey his thoughts concerning life’s futility.
“In my lust for gold, I feel like I’ve gotten nowhere,” Martin sings on the title track before ultimately concluding that “All roads point this way.” As for «My Lungs», it contains such upbeat reflections as “The days are long and what can I do/ They’re long and boring/ But the smoke always finds you.” An ode to Martin’s smoking habit, or a realization of life’s ephemeral, vaporous nature? Honestly, why not both?
The directness in Martin’s lyrics gives these songs their emotional heft, as does his deep, roughhewn voice – no doubt the result of countless cigarettes over the years. I’ll be turning 50 in less than two years, so thoughts of my own legacy have been weighing a bit more heavily on my mind lately. As such, I’ve actually found myself getting emotional during «Lust for Gold» (my favorite song on here, for the record) while reflecting on my own vain pursuits.
But what makes Lust for Gold doubly affecting – and doubly enjoyable for those of us who’ve been riding with Starflyer 59 since day one (on a sidenote, Silver turned 30 earlier this year) – is how Martin incorporates classic Starflyer 59 sounds into these eight songs. The syrupy thick distortion and note bends on «909» recall Gold while «My Lung»’s crunchy guitars and eerie feedback hearken back to Silver’s «The Dungeon». Meanwhile, collaborators like Frank Lenz and Fine China’s Rob Withem flesh out the album with cinematic string arrangements, mournful synths, and weepy slide guitar.
After the umpteenth listen, I’m struck by just how little effort these songs seemed to require of Martin et al. Which is not to say that he slacked off or that Lust for Gold is some lazy retread or “greatest hits” repackaging. Rather, Jason Martin has spent three decades honing his craft; more, if you count the Dance House Children and Morella’s Forest days. Thus, it’s no surprise that Starflyer 59’s seventeenth album is all killer and no filler, even with its old school vibe – the monochromatic artwork’s back, baby! – making it one of their best in recent memory. [Jason Morehead, Opus, August 16, 2024]
> Apple Music (https://music.apple.com/us/album/lust-for-gold/1756198004)
CD tracklist:
01. 909 – 4:04
02. Lust For Gold – 4:50
03. My Lungs – 3:51
04. YZ80 – 4:53
05. No Sweat – 6:47
06. 1995 – 4:42
07. Everyone Seems Strange – 4:16
08. The Breaks – 4:07
Note: Released on both cassette, CD (housed in a classic long box), and 12-inch vinyl LP by Velvet Blue Music (LP pressed on Black vinyl, Pink vinyl, and Green vinyl). Additionally a hardcover book was released. Available at Bandcamp: https://starflyer59.bandcamp.com/album/lust-for-gold
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