Blog Archive for June 2026
Album Of The Day: Leave Here A Stranger by Starflyer 59
"I never thought it'd go this far, I never thought that we'd ever go far, like all my friends who play guitar." Released 25 years ago today, this is the sixth studio album from indie rock/pop/shoegaze band Starflyer 59. The lyrics seem to be mostly about the struggles of a musician in a rock band, touring around the country and doing celebrity-ish things, as well as being in a different city each day. Musically, this album is definitely very poppy but with a full-band sound, and the lyrics are somewhat drowned out by the music on purpose, I think. Unlike earlier albums from this band, this has some strings and other sounds in addition to the normal guitar, drums and bass, and the guitar is not so heavy and fuzzed out as earlier albums that helped define the "shoegaze" genre. It's a short album but full of fun melodies and sounds from Jason Martin and company and I think one of Starflyer 59's better albums.
Release Year: 2001
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Album Of The Day: Mama by Jess Ray
"To Hell with my own truth / Help me find my way back to you " Released this past Friday, this is the sixth album from folk/pop singer-songwriter Jess Ray. Some of her albums are more acoustic guitar and piano, and there's definitely a bit of that on this album too, but on Mama there is more of an indie pop vibe with more experimental and atmospheric sounds, a bit more fancy production to give the songs a more unique sound. Jess Ray does a good job of talking about her Christian faith, but also talking about life's struggles and in a way that bring me hope and encouragement. I just listened to Mama for the first time today, but it's already becoming my favorite Jess Ray album and I'm listening to it for the second time now.
Release Year: 2026
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Album Of The Day: Treasure Of The Broken Land: The Songs Of Mark Heard by Various Artists
Released 9 years ago today, this is the a tribute album of all Mark Heard covers by many well-known names in the Americana scene and other styles. Produced by Phil Madeira, this album honors the music of '70s and '80s songwriter and Producer Mark Heard, considered to be one of the best songwriters of Christian music. I was never really a huge fan of Heard's roots-y, folk-y rock style, but he was definitely a good songwriter. And this is definitely more country/Americana, which is not my favorite genre, but it is cool to hear younger artists and peers of Heard on the same album honoring his legacy. There's big names from Nashville and beyond like North Mississippi Allstars, Drew Holcomb, Sierra Hull, Lily & Madeline, and also older artists like Over The Rhine, Rodney Crowell and Buddy Miller also re-imagining the songs of Mark Heard. I like this album and it's got lots of songs by lots of artists, and it definitely makes me want to hear more of Mark Heard's music, which I'm not that familiar with yet.
Release Year: 2017
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Album Of The Day: Hello, Mannequin by Joy Electric
"Who are friends?" Released 22 years ago today, this is the ninth album from synthesizer band Joy Electric. Like with most of Joy Electric and primary creator Ronnie Martin's solo releases, it's pretty much all his vocals over various sounds made from his synthesizer, in this case the Roland System 100. A bunch of songs have lyrics talking about communication and technology, like "The Birth Of The Telegram, 1814", "The Phonograph Plays, Part and Parcel" and "Nikola Tesla". Most songs have few lyrics as the music is the focus. The beeps and bloops of this electronic music isn't exactly my favorite, but I certainly admire Ronnie's dedication to a very unique form of musical expression and find it a fun listen on occasion. The sounds vary from beautiful to odd to industrial, sometimes in the same song even. The "Yah!" he cries at the start of "Wolf In The Bend" is ingrained in my brain. Also, I always love the graphic design of Joy Electric albums, and this one is definitely right up there with the pink neon-style cover.
Release Year: 2004
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