BTV087 Starlyer 59 : Dial M LP

Starflyer 59
Dial M (btv087)
Buy Online | LP

Track listing:
A Side
1. Minor Keys
2. God Forbid
3. Concentrate
4. Who Said It’s Easy?
5. M23
6. Taxi
B Side
1. Automatic
2. Altercation
3. Mr. Martin
4. I Love You Like The Little Bird
5. Majic (LP only)

Burnt Toast Vinyl and Starflyer 59 have had a special relationship over the years. btv has released vinyl versions of The Fashion FocusEverybody Makes Mistakes, and Talking Voice Vs. Singing Voice as well as the vinyl-only one-sided LP The Portuguese Blues. For nearly two years, Scott Hatch (Burnt Toast Vinyl) and Jason Martin (Starflyer 59) refined an ambitious plan for a Starflyer 59 7″ series. The series was subscription based with the A sides of the 7″ being demos for a forthcoming album and the B sides being exclusive to the series. After the plans were finalized, Martin got to work crafting the songs for the Ghosts of the Future 7″ series. The series allowed Martin to develop his songs over a period of time and fans to get a glimpse of an album in progress, as well as getting a special object. Over a period of about 9 months, the Starflyer 59 recordings were gradually completed. The 7″ were sent to subscribers over another 9 months with specially designed hand silk-screened/letterpressed covers made by Philadelphian design consortium HYMY Industries. The collection was held in specially embossed wooden boxes. Dial M is the culmination of the very deliberate Ghosts of the Future 7″ demo process.

From their noisy, shoegazing debut album Silver to the more polished Gold and metal Americana to the layered, keyboard rich The Fashion Focus and Everybody Makes Mistakes to the divergent prog rock of Old and lush string pop of Talking Voice vs. Singing Voice, Starflyer 59 have continued to progress and evolve. Influenced by early ’80s underground pop, Depeche Mode and the Smiths and the louder caustic sounds of the Pixies, Starflyer 59 have crafted music that is wholly their own. Dial M, their 11th full-length in their 14 year career, is no different.

Jason Martin took the Ghosts of the Future demos as a starting point to create the finalDial M album. The band (Martin joined by guitaris Josh Dooley, drummer Trey Many (ex-Pedro the Lion), and bassist Steven Dail) re-recorded the songs in a proper studio adding layers of strings, keyboards, and guitars to fill out and adjust the base compositions. The album opens with “Minor Keys,” an ode to Johnny Marr, “Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want”, and songwriting in a minor key. Dial M wavers between layered pop songs with breathy vocals, the more upbeat guitar rock of “Altercation”, and energetic ’80s synth pop of both “Concentrate” and “Taxi” with their energetic processed drum beats and electronic effects. The album winds down with the down tempo strings of “Mr. Martin,” a somber personal reflection on Martin’s father who passed last year and the slow poppiness of “I Love You Like the Little Bird” easily one of the catchiest Starflyer songs ever recorded with the observation of a prolific musician “I feel so obsolete because the kids want a faster beat.”

The vinyl includes “Majic”, a bonus track not available on the cd version along with a full LP sized insert.