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The old five-point scale has been retired in favor of just rating stuff 1-10, which allows me a much more nuanced final rating. Still don't take it that seriously. Most of these come from my own collection, so the grades skew rather high. Your results may vary if you send me stuff to review.

Each album is given three Essential tracks, my personal favorites, regardless of how weird and inconsequential they are. The Quintessential pick is the one I think best represents the album as a whole, so you can try one song instead of a whole album of songs. Non-Essential picks range from merely disappointing to outright unlistenable.

Starflyer 59

[#] Young in My Head (2019)

Reviewed November 30, -0001

Harsh realm.

Starflyer's long-playing career has been in its third leg for a long while now, sets of workmanlike indie rock that pretty plainly and straightforwardly address age, exhaustion, and memory, with 2019's Young in My Head representing probably the weakest of the lot. It sounds like a product of obligation, not of inspiration, but not the cynical kind of obligation where bands put out an album to cash in or because the label wanted one--Jason Martin's writing because he genuinely doesn't know what else to do. He even says this on the album! You just don't want to hear such a talented guy be so lost and dour about his age and the simple joys of creation.

"Not That I Want To" is undoubtedly the best song here, a prowling, dramatic crooked love song where Jason's dusty croaks, the gunslinger verse riffs, and the winding solos all come together in a fine display of pop rock craftsmenship like Starflyer's known for. Even the driving, bluesy acoustic guitars that power opener "Hey, Are You Listening?" and the overdriven melodic leads that take the title track from wordy verse to catchy chorus aren't bad at all. It's "Remind Me" where things fall into the sad sack downer midtempo mire from which the record never quite recovers. "I wanna work with my kid/Record all of his songs/'Cause mine are all gone", he laments, albeit with sweet intentions. C'mon, Jason. We both know that's not true.

Essential:	Quintessential:	Non-Essential:	Rating:
"Hey, Are You Listening?", "Not That I Want To", "Cain"	"Junk"	"Remind Me"

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