Artist: Starflyer 59
Album: Talking Voice Vs Singing Voice
Label: Tooth and Nail
Tracks: 9
Running Time: 32 minutes

Over more than a decade Jason Martin has carved out one of the most under recognised niches in indie rock as the force behind Starflyer 59. He has moved from British influenced shoegazer to bluesy and ballsy rocker and then on again to where we find him today, a lanquid but far from lazy dreamer filled with floating rhythms and gently crushing drum fills.

Talking Voice Versus Singing Voice is not Martin’s greatest work but with a canon of more than a dozen releases it’s no longer a question of deciding what is his best work. Rather it becomes a hard to ignore list. Frustratingly he has been ignored repeatedly.

It began with the seminal 1993 release Silver and continued with the fan favourites Gold (1995) and Leave Here A Stranger (2001). On this release Martin works predominantly with sweeping, even orchestral strings and the occasional wondrously uplifting organ jam alongside his moaning yet beautiful vocals – it could be his best but it’s not an argument worth having, the music floats way above it.

Jason is the brother of Ronnie Martin, the mastermind behind Joy Electric – A similarly prolific yet under recognised act but as the name suggests Ronnie much prefers to dabble in synths and effects, delivering awkward yet beautiful beat based electronic music. Rarely have the pair crossed paths artistically since they decided to split up Dance House Children in the early 90’s but their work has continued to influence the others.

The best track on Talking Voice is Good Sons and it perfectly showcases the subtle influence of Joy Electric over Starflyer 59. It’s instantly catchy and the beat is synthetic and undeniable while the keyboards wash over the chorus and demand to be recognised and adored. Easy Street offers a warbling, almost Cuban jazz bridge over an intoxicating riff in the middle distance. Starflyer 59 have not created a breakthrough album but they have placed yet another worthy addition in to their canon, every song they write makes them harder to ignore.