| Majesty Crush | |
| Background: | group_or_band |
| Origin: | Detroit, Michigan, United States |
| Genre: | Shoegaze, dream pop, indie rock |
| Years Active: | 1990–1995 |
| Label: | Vulva, Chameleon/Dali, Davies Productions, Ché Trading, Numero Group |
| Spinoffs: | P.S. I Love You, Astrobrite |
| Associated Acts: | P.S. I Love You, Astrobrite |
| Website: | https://majestycrush.bandcamp.com/ |
| Past Members: | Hobey Echlin Odell Nails Mike Segal David Stroughter |
Majesty Crush was an American indie rock band influenced by the shoegaze genre popularized in the UK in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Hailing from Detroit, Michigan, they formed in 1990 and broke up in 1995. The band's lineup consisted of lead singer David Stroughter (1966-2017[1] [2]), bassist Hobey Echlin, guitarist Michael Segal, and drummer Odell Nails III.
Majesty Crush served as the opening act at shows in the early 1990s for such bands as Chapterhouse, Curve, Mazzy Star, Royal Trux, and The Verve. The song "No. 1 Fan" picked up significant radio airplay on Windsor, Ontario's 89X, and led to Majesty Crush signing with Dali Records, a Warner/Elektra subsidiary. The label released Love 15, the band's lone studio album, in 1993.[3] AllMusic's Joshua Glazer described the album as "a testament to what might have been, if only the band's four members lived in Manchester instead of Detroit."[4] The band's momentum came to an abrupt halt, however, when Dali folded within a month of the album's release.[5] Majesty Crush returned a year later with the self-released Sans Muscles EP before breaking up in 1995.[6] David Stroughter went on to form the band P.S. I Love You.[7] Odell Nails later drummed for Robin Guthrie of Cocteau Twins, the similarly shimmery and ethereal bands Astrobrite and Mahogany, and the more garage indie-punk outfit Hunters.
In 1996, a Majesty Crush live performance was released as P.S. I Love You. About 50 of the first copies were credited to the group, but the rest of the copies were credited to P.S. I Love You.[8]
In 2009, Full Effect Records released the compilation album I Love You in Other Cities: The Best of Majesty Crush 1990–1995. OC Weeklys Dave Segal remarked that the album "offers 14 reasons why we should still care about this footnote in shoegaze-rock history." AllMusic's Heather Phares called it "a good retrospective of a band that just may have been in the wrong place at the wrong time." Laura Witkowski of Metro Times said the album "feels like the work of a superfan, one keen to share his excitement for a band deserving of more attention than it received."[9]
In 2017, Stroughter was killed by Los Angeles police officers after a slow-speed chase. This confrontation stemmed from two domestic incidents earlier in the day.
In 2020, Third Man Records chose "No. 1 Fan" as the lead-off track of its Southeast Of Saturn compilation, focusing on the best under-discovered early 90s ethereal and shoegaze bands from Detroit and its surrounding areas.[10] In 2023, the surviving members entered into an exclusive license deal with the Numero Group, which would begin remastering and reissuing various tracks in preparation for Butterflies Don't Go Away, a compilation of their discography, released on March 29, 2024.[11]
While incorporating the same lush, dreamy sound as other shoegaze acts of the time, the lyrics of Majesty Crush songs set them apart from other artists of the genre. Stroughter's often strange and obsessive lyrics cover such subjects as stalking Jodie Foster ("No. 1 Fan"), torture ("Boyfriend"), heroin ("Horse"), a female cashier at an adult book store ("Sunny Pie"), actresses ("Uma"), tennis stars ("Seles") and Italian porn stars ("Cicciolina").[12] The band's musical roots were focused on post-punk and new wave, specifically Joy Division and The Jesus and Mary Chain.[13]