Today, Starflyer 59 returns with its new single, “909.” In the early ’90s, as his solo debut was gestating, Jason Martin, the force behind Starflyer 59, lived at home with his parents in the suburban sprawl of Riverside, CA, or by its area code the ‘909’.

Martin would frequent his local record stores, patiently waiting for the latest batch of import singles, EPs, and LPs from his favorite UK bands: Ride, Slowdive, the Stone Roses, Pale Saints, MBV, Catherine Wheel — devouring obscure B-sides and deep album cuts alongside the “hits.” 

Over this period, Martin was also penning the songs that would become the first Starflyer 59 record. While the album is officially untitled, fans affectionately refer to it as “Silver,” due to its monochromatic metallic cover, while its follow-up, a second untitled album, is referred to as “Gold,” for similar reasons. These first two efforts firmly cemented the band in the history of the genre of noise pop or shoegaze. The pair are often mentioned in lists of the greatest shoegaze albums of all time.

Over the years, the band’s sound would morph and develop, and ebb and flow into other genres. Now, with the release of their 17th studio full-length, Lust For Gold (Velvet Blue Music), Starflyer harkens back to those early days. Martin has always peppered his lyrics with nostalgia and explains, “It’s a longing to return to youth, to that time when music felt new and exciting, where it felt like the future was wide open.”

The record also pays homage to those early monochromatic offerings with a cover and surrounding album art by Jason Pickersgill, who also created the artwork for the first two records. Lastly, “Lust,” returns to that early sound with layers of sludgy guitar riffs, and more noise and distortion than has been present on an SF59 record for a long while. “I wasn’t trying to recreate the past,” Martin said, “as much as I was just trying to feel excited about the process.”

“Lust For Gold,” is rounded out with help from Steve Dail (Project 86) on bass, Rob Withem (Fine China) on additional guitars, Frank Lenz (Richard Swift, Damien Jurado) on strings and percussion, and Charlie Martin (The Rocky Valentines) on drums.  The record is available Aug. 19, 2024 in true ’90s fashion on 12” vinyl / compact disc (in the old school long box) / and cassette.