Starflyer 59 -- Dial M

9/10

After a prolific 14-year recording career, Jason Martin seemed to be at a crossroads. How could a guy who had always seemed so creatively restless release 2006's My Island, an album that simply sounded like generic indie rock? Where was the ambition and creativity?
Thankfully, finally taking a year off (after releasing new albums in 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006) has resulted in a resurgence of creativity, as the quirky and original Dial M is Starflyer 59's best work in half-a-decade.
Dial M is a unique amalgam of sounds and tones, the most generic description I can give for an album I am realizing is stranger the farther I listen to it from its release date. Martin blends acoustic guitar--a relatively unexplored instrument in Starflyer 59's previous discography--with 70's and 80's synth sounds. He uses the electric guitar--once his primary instrument--as more of an ornament, albeit a frequent one, often using that classic, high-noon guitar tone. He couples this with the tightest rhythm section he's ever had on record. Bassist, Steven Dail and drummer, Trey Many, played together a bit on My Island, but here they are fully unleashed, and at the service of songs Martin has written to be very rhythm-centric. The drums and bass are both rich and dominant in the mix and sound fantastic.
I remember 11 years ago, however, being frustrated that Dial M ends on two gentler numbers, and I think that I judged it unfairly based upon only that. I remember liking the rest quite a bit, and listening now, those two songs actually work really well in tandem together, with the rhythm track falling out for penultimate track, "Mr. Martin," and coming back for the gentle, but cathartic "I Love You Like the Little Bird." The eight tracks before those two are a fun, but measured blast of energy, mostly uptempo, and create a very unique, nearly bizarre atmosphere. It is most definitely autumnal (the album color scheme is on point), slightly haunting, though not cold, despite the preponderance of those icy retro synths. Perhaps this is because Martin never uses the synths as a crutch--they're always part of a greater whole and serve the songs...and thankfully, these are some of the more memorable songs of Martin's career.
Dial M also features some of Martin's more memorable lyrics. Martin's never held his Christian faith on his sleeve, but as the 00' wore on, it peeked out more and more. His faith becomes explicit here, as he both struggles with and embraces it, while dealing with the death of his father. Martin also deals with aging, and the fact that his musical career never took off in popularity the way it should have. continuing the conversation he began on 2003's Old. He muses on "I Love You Like the Little Bird,"

I've made up my mind
This is the time to relegate
No need to remind that scans
Are unkind a lot of times
But I've tried, I've tried to write
What was in my head, what was in my head
Sometimes I feel, I feel so obsolete
Because the kids want a faster beat
And if I was free, free to leave
But it's my kids, they need to eat
I love you it's true
I love you like the little bird
No need to remind that life is unkind
A lot of times

He also sings on the desperate "Taxi," Sometimes I tell myself/I should have walked when they all started leaving/Sometimes I tell myself/Not all the time but most of the time,"undoubtably musing about how the band had by this point shed all of the members but Martin from the time earlier in the decade, when they seemed most poised to break out in popularity. Really, there's an overall tension here driving the record, between a Martin dealing with the grief of losing his father and coming to grips with the death of his dream of musical fame, and a reflective Martin who seems to be having a great time playing this music. Personally, I think the song most emblematic of this tension and representative of the album as a whole, is the delightful centerpiece, track five, "M23." On "M23," Martin muses on the miracle of his life being influenced by the musical work of strangers, how he's strived to influence in the same way, how he's worried his career has now stalled out and that chance to influence has now come to an end, and how he is relying on his faith to get him through this existential crisis. The musical backdrop, featuring the blend of acoustic guitar, electronics, and the tight rhythm section I described above, is sublime.

I was going to add some stuff about my personal life and my marriage from late 2008 (the time of this album's release) here, but I realized that would better be served by the review I'm going to write for the Twilight Soundtrack. Yes, I'm going to write a review for the Twilight Soundtrack, if I live long enough to finish these Starflyer 59 reviews, let alone the rest of the reviews for the letter "S."

2008 Tooth & Nail Records
1. Minor Keys 3:24
2. The Brightest of the Head 3:32
3. Concentrate 3:10
4. Who Said It's Easy? 3:40
5. M23 3:25
6. Taxi 2:37
7. Automatic 3:53
8. Altercation 3:09
9. Mr. Martin 3:15
10. I Love You Like the Little Bird 4:27