by Brent

From the first time I heard the opening guitar lines of “blue collar love”, I automatically knew Starflyer 59 was a special band, and that Silver was going to be a special album. Silver, a legendary masterpiece, introduced Starflyer 59 to the world and the Christian music world to shoegaze.

The songs on Silver are incredible. The walls of guitars built by Jason Martin hammer the listener relentlessly, only to suddenly fade into a beautiful, soothing, reverb-laden coating. The vocals are whispery and mysterious, often drowned by the guitars. Compared often to My Bloody Valentine’s Loveless, Silver actually only mirrors loveless in its wall of guitar sound and breathy vocals. The song writing structure is much different here than on loveless, but no less effective.

What more can be said? “She Only Knows” breathes and sighs with longing, “The Dungeon” plows over the listener with intensity, and “Droned” combines the two moods. I could go on and on about this CD, but simply put, Silver is an incredible debut that reeks of relevancy. Silver is a must-have for any shoe gaze/Christian alternative fan.