This review starts with a short personal story of how I discovered this outstanding, but yet weird band. So bear with me or just skip the next two paragraphs.
I first gained interest in
Must, when I learned they were the opening act for
Thunder on their UK Tour, where I attended a show in Watford. In advance of the Watford show I requested the record company for a promo copy and that copy just arrived more than 2 months late. However, I never experienced
Must in concert, because they bailed out a few days prior to the gig in Watford, England.
Ever since bailing out on the
Thunder gig
Must has been a huge mystery to me - both off the record and also on disc.
Must supported
Def Leppard on their UK dates and the
Thunder tour should affirm the band's status before an European release. However, the album hasn't come out yet and their record company "Wind Up Records" (same label as Evanescence) don't list
Must anymore on their site. Furthermore the band's official website is not functioning anymore.
Must is a band wrapped in mystery and the same goes for the music. This is definitely not for the average listener.
Must is a hybrid of brit-pop and alternative rock with a grain of Hard Rock.
"Androgynous Jesus" opens with the strongest track on the whole disc.
Bubblegum Sleaze has a fantastic chorus and from the first song, you sense Dave Ireland's lyrics are non average. The things evolving in his world are displayed on the lyrics. One of the first lines on
Bubblegum Sleaze goes "I've accepted that I'm screwed" and finds Dave Ireland in self-recognition
Rust is a perfect example of the multi-layered music of
Must and also the common structure of the songs with mellow verse and powerful chorus. The guitar inflicts on the atmosphere with cool fills and the addition of strings makes this a very emotional track. The atmosphere compares with Radiohead and Dave Irelands sensitive vocals support this, since his light vocals sound a bit like Radiohead's Thom Yorke.
Rust displays an extremity of his vocal range.
An acoustic guitar drives
Freechild and Dave Ireland's vocals really stand out on this ballad, which was a minor single hit in USA. It obvious that it's cut for radio, but you cannot help surrender to this well written emotional ballad.
There is a lot of contrast in the music of
Must. The use of mellow tones and razor sharp distorted guitars is exemplified on
Very Wicked and
Heartbreaker, both with hard rocking choruses that goes electric.
Dave Ireland voice spans through several octaves.
No Way Out displays Dave's vocal talent. Opposite
Rust's light vocals, Dave Ireland sings very deep on this.
No Way Out builds up to climax, which is reached with addition of strings. It is a very psychedelic track and not among the most accessible on the album.
Odyssey ranks among the best tracks. The message of the melancholic song is you only live once.
Moving On has a funky bass rhythm, but constant changes of pace between mellow and up-tempo funk cannot keep me attentive through the entire song.
The half ballad
I'll Find What I've Been Seeking is another gem on "Androgynous Jesus". The atmosphere of the track and a very strong chorus mainly causes this. A great melodic guitar riff is played as theme of the song and
Must even tries a short guitar solo, which is the only on the record.
"Androgynous Jesus" is an interesting album, which you either love or hate. I love it, but could live without the massive use of electronic drums and sounds. It also an album without a clear leitmotif. A few songs don't match the overall standard like the primitive
Very Wicked. However, what attracts me is the use of multiple instruments and string sections, which make most of the songs powerful and bombastic. Interesting to see how
Must performs live, since it forces them to be more stripped down.
The most valuable ingredient to
Must's music is singer Dave Ireland, whose vocals are used in many variations on the record and the listener gets chilling emotions, moody, raspy and rocky vocals. But overall his voice is really powerful and his vocals are the foundation to
Must's ambitious music.
There a are few weak tracks, but overall this album has captured me because of its many facets and three songs that really stands out as genius songs, namely
Bubblegum Sleaze,
Freechild and
I'll Find What I've Been Seeking.
I advice everyone a listen before buying. "Androgynous Jesus" is not for the average music fan.
Written by
Michael Thursday, February 5, 2004
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