ALBUM REVIEW: Just Mustard – Heart Under

Partisan

Released: 25.05.22

Like the Emerald Isle itself, Ireland’s alt. scene is lush and verdant. Heading up the emerging cohort, as sophomore effort Heart Under proves, are Just Mustard. The Dundalk quintet return with ten tracks of enthralling breadth and rare invention which are, in short, nothing less than a triumph.

From the scuttling mesmerism of opener 23 to the howling release of later cuts Early and Sore, there’s an entrancing, shamanic quality to the album, characterised by a subtle mastery of brooding, ethereal soundscapes and a downright rejection of orthodoxy. At times propulsive and almost nightmarish, at others lullabying and soft, Heart Under is an uncommon amalgamation of the sweet and the unsettling, the gentle and the ominous. More than anything though, it’s really, really good.