Love 15

Majesty Crush はデトロイト出身の90年代のシューゲイズ・バンド。彼らは最初であり唯一のスタジオ・アルバム『Love 15』を、Warner/Elektraの傘下レーベルであるDali Recordsからリリースしたが、このレーベルは作品発表からまもなくして解散してしまった。今作は夢見心地でギター主導のサウンドを聴き手に届け、インディー・ロックとポップの境界を曖昧にする -- それこそがMajesty Crushを象徴する決定的な特徴となっています。

Detroit's only contenders in the U.K.'s shoegazer scene, Majesty Crush combined the effects-laden guitar work and dreamy vocals of British groups like My Bloody Valentine and Lush with a strong hometown-influenced rhythm section. The group's only full-length album, released with zero promotional support by the ill-fated Warner Bros. subsidiary Dali, is a testament to what might have been, if only the bands four members lived in Manchester instead of Detroit. Hobey Echlin's impossibly catchy basslines on "No. 1 Fan" and "Pennies for Love" meld with Odell Nails creative yet rock solid drums and Michael Segal's single note guitar washes; laying the base for David Stroughter's uniquely sinister vocals about love, obsession, and...obsession. Three songs, "Uma," "Seles," and "Cicciolina" are straight-faced odes to the actress, tennis player, and Italian pornstar turned politician, respectively. Tragically, the record label folded almost immediately after the albums release, making Love 15 the little lost American cousin of the U.K. dream pop scene. ~ Joshua Glazer