by Russell Foxall.
Based in Dundalk, Just Mustard are part of the ever expanding Irish music scene, although their first album was released over four years ago.
Having found their second album, Heart Under, powerfully intriguing, I decided to take the opportunity to see them when they came to the Loft, Southampton, last night (16th September).
White Flowers opened, taking to a stage bathed in red light. They delivered an accomplished set.
After a brief interval, Just Mustard walked on stage. The first song, 23, opened with Mete Kalyon, playing his guitar with a violin bow, as bassist Rob Clarke stood statue-still centre left of vocalist, Katie Ball, whose ethereal vocal soared above the white noise that burst into the venue.
From this point Just Mustard delivered a searing set of snarling interwoven guitar, underpinned by metronomic base and drumming so tight that it was hard to believe it was live, not sampled.
With every song, the vocals became more spellbinding and the soundscape more expansive. No half measures here, as the band followed their own path, one which I was perfectly enchanted to be lead down.
With the final song, Seed, I was left with the certainty that I had seen something special.
Though I agree that comparisons are odious, they sometimes serve a purpose, and it would not be unfair to liken Just Mustard to My Bloody Valentine, at their most caustic, or Cranes. However, I feel they have the capacity to be something even more.
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