Artist: Starflyer 59 Album: I Am the Portuegese Blues Label: Tooth & Nail Records Rating: 6 out of 10

Those who only know Starflyer 59 from their post-1998 retro-pop period are in for a bit of a shock when they put on the group's latest full-length, the peculiarly-titled I Am the Portuguese Blues. Excellent albums like Everybody Makes Mistakes and Old relied primarily on a laid-back mix of languid guitar leads, acoustic strumming, and trippy synths and keyboards that no doubt brought many new fans (as well as critics) into the band's court. But the Starflyer of yore was built on a very different foundation - one comprised of heavily distorted, effects-drenched guitars and bare-bones musical structures, contrasted with with singer/songwriter Jason Martin's whispery, near-monotone delivery. The switch between those two styles between Americana and its follow-up, The Fashion Focus, seemed to come suddenly, with the former offering little indication of the surprise Starflyer had in store for its fans. Written primarily between those two seminal albums, but never recorded until this year, Portuguese is the missing link between new and old Starflyer. "Destiny" is the most obvious bridge between the eras, as it pairs lean, hard-driving verses with a gently melodic, acoustic-backed chorus accented with new wave-ish, echoey leads. In the same vein is "Worth of Labor," a potent mix of stop-start electric guitars, echoey vox and shaking tambourines that's recalls - of all things - classic Kiss. Ghosts of classic rockers past and still present - a little David Bowie here, another long-forgotten glam band there - are also resurrected on the pounding "Teens" and the instrumental "Sound on Sound," which is basically a two-and-a-half minute guitar solo. While there's no arguing that these tracks rock solidly, as does the majority of Portuguese, they're missing the deceptively-subtle hooks that have always been Starflyer's secret weapon. On "Unlucky," a rare blues excursion, the band makes a successful detour into what is primarily The White Stripes' territory these days. However, the track's grooving verses quickly give way to one of Starflyer's trademark airy, slide-guitar-kissed choruses, on which Martin wonders: "Now her boyfriend's back/It's no crying shame/How'd you get so unlucky?" All told, Portuguese makes for a solid listen, but after the band's recent accomplishment in successfully molding pop, retro and indie-rock into a cohesive whole, it feels a bit lightweight. Still, Martin and company seem to be having a good time here, just letting it fly without thinking too hard. Their next one will probably be another carefully-constructed rock masterpiece, so it's best to just give Starflyer 59 a free pass this time and enjoy the sound of one today's best working bands letting their hair down. - Todd Thatcher