Gold (Starflyer 59 album)

Starflyer 59 (Gold)^[a] is the second studio album by alternative rock band Starflyer 59. Continuing the heavy shoegaze sound of debut studio album Silver while making various adjustments, Gold explores themes of melancholy, heartbreak, and lost friendships.^[3] It was released on June 27, 1995 by Tooth & Nail Records.

Starflyer 59 (Gold)
Studio album by Starflyer 59
Released	June 27, 1995 June 28, 2005 (Extended Edition)
Recorded	1995
Genre	Shoegaze dream pop alternative rock indie rock
Length	50:07
Label	Tooth & Nail
Producer	Jason Martin
Starflyer 59 chronology
She's the Queen (1994) Starflyer 59 (Gold) (1995) Le Vainqueur (1995)
Starflyer 59 studio albums chronology
Starflyer 59 (Silver) (1994) Starflyer 59 (Gold) (1995) Americana (1997)
Extended Edition (2005 remaster)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Jesusfreakhideout.com	[2]

Ranked as number 41 on Pitchfork's 50 Best Shoegaze Albums of All Time list, Gold is considered a landmark in the history of the shoegaze genre.^[4] Discussing the album with an interviewer at NPR decades later, band frontman Jason Martin (who produced the album) mentioned, "I don't know what the hell I was doing on that thing. But listening back, it's almost like you're listening back to a different person."^[5]

In June 2005, Tooth & Nail released an extended, remastered edition of Gold for its 10th anniversary, featuring five bonus tracks from the band's Goodbyes Are Sad 7-inch single and Le Vainqueur EP.^[b] This was accompanied by an extended, remastered edition of first studio album Silver.

Recording

In the CD liner notes for the Easy Come, Easy Go compilation album released in 2000, band biographer J. Edward Keyes records that Gold was marked by a chaotic production process. Having parted ways with original production team Blood (Jyro Xhan, Jerome Fontamillas) due to "internal tension," band frontman Jason Martin ended up taking most production duties upon himself, working alongside engineer Bob Moon, to complete his original two-album contract with Tooth & Nail. Moon recalls that Martin, grinding through a month-long recording process, told him outside the studio on one occasion that "it was the first time he'd seen daylight in seven days." Coupling the difficult recording process with the album's depressive themes, Martin revealed to Keyes that the Gold sessions were causing him to have "a semi-breakdown. It was a sick experience."

Martin recalls that after production had finished, upon final examination, he "hated [the album]. There was just too much me. ... It was just so overindulgent. The music became longer and longer with those stupid solos because I was in there and I just wasn't thinking straight." Martin also initially received negative feedback from fans on the album's modified shoegaze sound and production quality, having confused "intentional underproduction for budgetary constraints," with Martin stating to Keyes that "they hated the thing." In an effort to create a specific, unique sound, Moon describes that he and Martin "had like fifteen mikes up for guitar, [and] different types of mikes in different positions. We had six rhythm tracks [running, which were] going through three different [amps, in order to get] a low guitar tone, a mid guitar tone, and a high guitar tone, and then doubling all of those to get this wall of sound.

Friends of Martin privately shared to him that wider connections were discussing how "Starflyer really choked on this second album." However, sometime after the album's release, Gold unexpectedly received a dramatic increase in popularity, along with a significant rise of approval among fans, going on to reach "nearly triple the sales" of Silver.^[3]

Track listing

All songs written by Jason Martin.

Album release^[6]

No.	Title	Length
1.	"A Housewife Love Song"	4:12
2.	"Duel Overhead Cam"	4:38
3.	"When You Feel Miserable"	5:07
4.	"You're Mean"	2:04
5.	"Stop Wasting Your Whole Life / Messed Up and Down"	5:03
6.	"Messed Up Over You"	6:44
7.	"When You Feel the Mess"	6:16
8.	"Somewhere When Your Heart Glowed the Hope"	4:43
9.	"Indiana"	4:26
10.	"Do You Ever Feel That Way"	2:15
11.	"One Shot Juanita"	4:39
Total length:		50:07[c]

Extended Edition bonus tracks (Goodbyes Are Sad 7-inch single)^[7]

No.	Title	Length
12.	"Next Time Around"	5:17
13.	"Goodbyes Are Sad"	3:52

Extended Edition bonus tracks (Le Vainqueur EP)^[7]

No.	Title	Length
14.	"When No One Calls (It Will Be Alright)"	3:19
15.	"The Starflyer 2000 Reprise"	4:09
16.	"Le Vainqueur"	6:11
Total length:		72:55[d]

Personnel

• Jason Martin – vocals, guitar, drums
• Andrew Larson – bass guitar
• Wayne Everett – vocal producing, backing vocals and drums on "When You Feel Miserable"
• Ed Giles Benrock – drums on "Stop Wasting Your Life", "Messed Up Over You" and "When You Feel the Mess"
• Gene Eugene – hammond organ on "Messed Up Over You"
• Brian Gardner - mastering