Starflyer 59 have never been a band you could pin down for long. Silver and Gold buried Jason Martin's melodies under towering guitars, and Americana still had plenty of that weight. So what happens when he turns the guitars down and lets the songs breathe? The Fashion Focus answers that question, and I have to admit I wasn't prepared for how well it works.

There's a lighter touch here, with keyboards and clean guitar lines giving the songs more room. "I Drive a Lot" opens the record with a melody that gets under your skin almost immediately. "We're the Ordinary" and "Sundown" keep things moving, while "Fell in Love at 22" slows down just enough to show how much feeling Martin can fit into a short song. None of this sounds like a band trying to abandon its past. The haze is still there; you can simply hear what's happening inside it now.

I keep coming back to "Card Games & Old Friends." It has the sort of easy warmth that seems simple until you try to imagine anyone else writing it. "Shut Your Mouth" gives the album a little bite, and the title track pulls its melodic instincts together beautifully. There are a few places where the quieter approach makes me miss the force of the earlier records, and "Too Much Fun" lingers longer than I need it to. Those are small complaints on an album with this many songs worth revisiting.

If you came looking for another Gold, this might take a few listens. Give it that time. The Fashion Focus shows a band growing into a different sound without losing the thing that made its earlier records matter. It's one of Starflyer 59's most inviting albums, and for me, one of its best.

— Johnny New