O.C. Rockers Keep It Lush and Low-Key

Visceral reactions and valentines to pop found off the beaten path:

*

What’s striking about Starflyer 59’s estimable body of work is how tired frontman Jason Martin sounds with the whole business. Amid his languid guitarscapes and lush arrangements, Martin’s breathy vocals evoke a world-weariness that seems to run counter to his productivity.

With the release last month of “Leave Here a Stranger,” the Orange County-based foursome completed a three-year stretch during which the band’s faithful have been rewarded with three albums, a two-disc boxed set and a mini-album.

Will such output catapult Martin, 28, into the spotlight he deserves? That hinges on whether Starflyer 59 continues to be unfairly pigeonholed as just a Christian rock band. That is its roots, and there lies its small but rabid fan base. But Martin uses few overt religious references, and, from his songs’ texture and anthemic feel, a new listener might identify SF59 as British art-rock.

“Stranger,” the band’s seventh album for Seattle-based Tooth & Nail Records, is a curiosity for what it isn’t--in stereo--and compelling for what it offers: Martin’s surf-guitar-at-low-tide stylings on a pastiche of synth, keyboards and vibes. They coalesce on “I Like Your Photographs,” a haunting masterwork that ranks as the band’s “A Day in the Life.”

Starflyer 59 wasn’t always so restrained. It was conceived in 1993 as an outlet for Martin’s shoegazer rock leanings, and its self-titled debut featured dense guitars that grew ferocious on the 1995 follow-up, “Gold.” Martin’s collaboration with the late Gene Eugene began with 1997’s “Americana,” and under the producer’s guidance, the wall of guitar became a window.

“The Fashion Focus” (‘98) and “Everybody Makes Mistakes” (‘99) reveal Martin’s maturation as a songwriter. Even the “Fell in Love at 22” EP is essential for the instrumental “Traffic Jam,” the most ethereal 14 minutes human ears can spend with a guitar.

The “Easy Come Easy Go” boxed set released last year documents the band’s remarkable evolution.

“I’ve played all the chords / And I guess I get bored,” Martin confides on the new record, and if fans worry for a moment the end might be near, he adds what could be Starflyer 59’s mantra: “Don’t wanna give up the war.”

*

* Starflyer 59 plays with Add N to X on Saturday at Spaceland, 1717 Silver Lake Blvd., L.A., 9 p.m. $12. (213) 833-2843 .

*

Kevin Bronson, a Times staff writer, can be reached at kevin.bronson@latimes.com.