| | Full Review | Ratings (357) |
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| 5.0 classic | Adrian Hertzberg CONTRIBUTOR | July 28th 09 |
What We Must is in a three-way tie (the other two being Kid A and Lift Your Skinny Fists) for the most stunning, beautiful, and, frankly, the best album of our modern era of music. In many ways, this is the perfect post-rock album, mainly because it isn't strictly a post-rock album. There are elements of jazz in this music which help to separate it from a genre which has become a little bit monotonous and predictable (sometimes). rEvery instrument on this record is played with palpable emotion and true talent; one almost feels as if the musicians are in the room playing live. What's more is that this band, more than most others I have ever listened to, sounds like one cohesive unit when they play. Whether that's a result of the various members' tight relationship or fantastic production doesn't really matter; the result speaks for itself. rAlso, the songs are all beautifully crafted. The first song in particular, All I Know Is Tonight, is a masterpiece of song-writing with several beautiful themes and a quite remarkable build-up. The interwoven musical passages and breath-taking use of quiet/loud juxtaposition make this song in particular (and the record in general) a truly moving musical experience. rI love everything about this album. Each time I give it a spin, the music demands my full attention. Sometimes, I might read or think about stuff while I listen to music, but not with What We Must. It is such an emotional piece of music and its subtle complexities demand the listeners' full attention.
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| 5.0 classic | Tyler Fisher EMERITUS | June 1st 07 |
Do you like jazz? Rock? Electronica? Do you like music at all? Then What We Must is for you. Jaga Jazzist's third major album finds them taking their music to a whole new level and redefining their sound with a much more band oriented sound. Guitars take promience over the horns, leaving them to set countermelody and atmosphere. From the stellar "All I Know Is Tonight" to the epic, emotional "Swedenborgske Rom" to the late-night drive visions of "I Have A Ghost, Now What?" Jaga Jazzist spins stories that words cannot express.
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| 0.0 | samrichardson | December 12th 06 |
an interesting album but unfortunatley it reminded me of elevator music. some lush soundscapes but not what i was hoping for. in my opinion explosions in the sky do this far better.
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| 2.5 average | Travis Montgomery | January 29th 13 |
I really thought I was going to love this... I really did... but listening to it now, I get absolutely nothing. Instead of whatever ambient/post-rock/electronic bliss you guys are getting, I'm hearing none of; just jazz-noodling done by a bunch of post-rockers. 2.7/5
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| 5.0 classic | Upsidedown_and_Sideways | December 4th 10 |
Originally I gave the album a 4, but having now listened to their full catalogue I can now see the push of this band to try something different, and they had fantastic results. The horns on this album don't growl as much as I've heard in live performances but that is simply production value. This album deserves to be recognized as a classic.
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| 4.5 superb | NeutralThunder12 | October 6th 10 |
What I've been looking to find for the longest time. Jaga Jazzist are an enormous group of well-rounded musicians, 10 in fact. On "What We Must", Jazzist combine smooth jazz, post-rock, ambient and electronic music together to create a beautiful and eclectic piece of artistic awesomeness that is pretty much one of the most original styles I've ever heard. It's full of soothing jazz melodies, dreamy post-rock dynamics, and even a bit of electronic noise experimentation. It literally blew me away on first listen, I can't wait to let it grow more.
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| 4.0 excellent | Eno | December 16th 09 |
Since each track on this album is an individual masterpiece, I find this album can be a bit tedious. With each track being long, epic, and complex, it's hard to listen to any more than 2 tracks in a row.
But getting past that, this is probably one of the better albums I've heard in a while. Extremely intense musical ability, really cool post-rock, jazz, electronic crossover, and in general just a fresh, well orchestrated sound.
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| 4.0 excellent | benhxc | January 31st 13 |
| 1.5 very poor | Claudio | January 22nd 13 |
| 4.0 excellent | jorsh | November 29th 12 |
| 5.0 classic | Kaozz16 | October 11th 12 |
| 3.5 great | Eric | May 15th 12 |
| 4.0 excellent | Maniac | May 13th 12 |
| 4.0 excellent | lada | May 7th 12 |
| 4.0 excellent | 9MgTar | April 17th 12 |
| 4.0 excellent | Thomas | April 5th 12 |
| 4.0 excellent | tfmcmp | March 16th 12 |
| 4.5 superb | Gapwick | February 4th 12 |
| 4.0 excellent | warrar1 | January 26th 12 |
| 4.5 superb | miked89 | January 13th 12 |
| 4.0 excellent | discoe | January 2nd 12 |
| 4.0 excellent | Rowdy | December 28th 11 |
| 4.5 superb | ImpWolf | October 12th 11 |
| 5.0 classic | Key | October 1st 11 |
| 4.0 excellent | Jekub | September 17th 11 |
| 4.0 excellent | Dave | June 28th 11 |
| 4.0 excellent | Batman | May 23rd 11 |
| 4.5 superb | Pawsee | February 15th 11 |
| 4.0 excellent | Adash | January 18th 11 |
| 3.5 great | -1up!- | December 29th 10 |
| 4.0 excellent | Pagaard | December 9th 10 |
| 3.5 great | Boissi | November 23rd 10 |
| 4.5 superb | Thane | November 22nd 10 |
| 3.0 good | bloc | November 5th 10 |
| 4.0 excellent | deadsye | October 31st 10 |
| 4.5 superb | Max R. | October 29th 10 |
| 4.5 superb | NoXoR | October 15th 10 |
| 4.0 excellent | feav233 | October 13th 10 |
| 4.0 excellent | James | October 2nd 10 |
| 5.0 classic | fsharp | September 21st 10 |
| 3.5 great | Kubrick | September 17th 10 |
| 4.5 superb | Texture | September 11th 10 |
| 4.5 superb | grotto | September 3rd 10 |
| 3.5 great | Legham | July 26th 10 |
| 4.5 superb | hval91 | April 17th 10 |
| 3.0 good | Glenn | April 11th 10 |
| 3.5 great | Pizza | April 4th 10 |
| 4.0 excellent | KSCIAA | March 25th 10 |
| 3.0 good | gonzab | March 17th 10 |
| 4.0 excellent | rid | March 5th 10 |
| 4.0 excellent | Aziz CONTRIBUTOR | February 6th 10 |
| 3.5 great | zach | November 2nd 09 |
| 4.0 excellent | RedSky | November 1st 09 |
| 4.0 excellent | ziroth | October 30th 09 |
| 4.5 superb | Ricven | October 18th 09 |
| 4.0 excellent | avestin | October 7th 09 |
| 3.5 great | C.F. | September 19th 09 |
| 4.0 excellent | cam | August 11th 09 |
| 4.0 excellent | Blimps | June 12th 09 |
| 4.5 superb | Tjeerd | June 1st 09 |
| 4.5 superb | yontar | May 27th 09 |
| 4.0 excellent | Taxt | May 12th 09 |
| 4.5 superb | gaz | April 14th 09 |
| 5.0 classic | Manic | April 4th 09 |
| 4.5 superb | rav3 | April 3rd 09 |
| 4.0 excellent | slan | January 19th 09 |
| 3.5 great | doqtor | August 7th 08 |
| 4.5 superb | Bhima | July 22nd 08 |
| 4.0 excellent | boennie | March 10th 08 |
| 4.0 excellent | Keelan H. EMERITUS | February 4th 08 |
| 5.0 classic | Raphael | February 1st 08 |
| 4.0 excellent | Kiran EMERITUS | January 29th 08 |
| 3.5 great | Ohh | January 24th 08 |
| 4.0 excellent | Satanix | December 13th 07 |
| 4.5 superb | Theo H. | November 25th 07 |
| 5.0 classic | j0shy | August 19th 07 |
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