With a surprising mesh of heavy alt guitar and tender vocal aspirations, Starflyer 59 rocked the indie scene for six years, from '94 to 2000, picking up where grunge left off, but adding the best of leader Jason Martin's favorite bands, the Smiths, Chapterhouse, and the Pixies to name just a few. And, where the result could have been dead flat, wrapped in the sonics of Starflyer 59 it was just flattering. The double anthology Easy Come Easy Go, then, becomes a chunky chronicle of the best and the rest of Martin's ambitions. Disc one collects the hits, leaving disc two to wrap up live material, b-sides and rarities.
Loaded with moments straight out of the shoegazers' black boots, the set is sonically splattered with the ghosts of all those great bands. Both My Bloody Valentine and New Order are conjured up across "Hazelwould", while the sparse guitar twang of "Duel Overhead Cam" brings to mind some truly righteous post punk moments. Drawn pretty much equally from Starflyer 59's quintet of albums, the set takes a twist on the later, and sweeter strains of "Harmony" and the absolutely stunning "We're The Ordinary". And that, of course, leaves plenty of room for the long forgotten b-sides and oddies but goodies like She Was my Sweetheart, from the She's the Queen EP, and a demo of "Everyone but Me". Of great interest to fans, too, will be the eight live tracks, essentially a mini-set that closes out the collection.
Often scintillating and sometimes odd, Easy Come Easy Go dipped below the radar when it was released, a shame because Martin combines thoughts and ideals in a way that is usually interesting and sometimes even brilliant. ~ Amy Hanson