The first Starflyer cd I owned was "Leave Here A Stranger", which was a musical journey. Unfortunately, it was a journey which grew old quckly. While each song was finely crafted, ultimately, each song tended to sound the same. Hungery from something new, I picked up Starflyer's first cd, officially self titled, but known as "Silver" due to the monotone, silver artwork. This was different and more straightforward, more of a fuzzy rock. There were many cds released between "Silver" and "Leave Here A Stranger", however, each tended to sound like each of those cds. It was looking like Starflyer 59 would be a one trick pony.

When I heard of a new cd from Starflyer titled "Old" I used what I knew of the band (utilizes the same sound, same tempo, same everything) coupled with the cd title "Old" and wrote the disc off as the same thing as past cds. Then I heard a previously unreleased track from the upcoming cd on a sampler disc. That did little to change my perception. It was the same old thing.

Ironically, I still had hope for something interesting from Starflyer 59. One of the biggest rock critics I know of online got an advance copy of the cd and said it was mindblowing. I said to myself, "Maybe it's not just the same old thing. Maybe there is still a chance of Starflyer doing something new."

Finally, I got a chance to hear for myself. I got a hold of a copy (though not set for release til Tuesday the 20th) and gave it a spin.

One song later I tried to pick my jaw off the floor. The first song was incredible. Titled "Underneath" it blew away every preconcption of Starflyer. Instead of being slow and dreary and repetitive, "Underneath" included many different elements, was speedier, and had a sparkle of life to it. If this is how the rest of the cd is, it would make my top 5 list of the year hands down.