WHAT WE MUST

Jaga Jazzist has somewhat matured over the years. Their debut albums was very hectic, playful, diverse and innovative (at least for me) with their combination of electronica and jazz rock with several other influences thrown in the mix. In "What We Must" we see them a taking a slower, more chilled out approach to their music and now they've added another influence to the mix, post-rock.

The differences can be clearly seen even in the opener song, "All I know Is Tonight", with its rather lazy (in a good way) horns and restrained sound. The change in atmosphere is also quite evident in this release. While the feel of their debut was sunny, playful like summer days, this one sounds more like walking around late at night in cold weather. The change in atmosphere still won't change that Jaga Jazzist sound that fans already know and like. "Oslo Skyline" has to be my favorite song on the album. Aside from being the most "post-rock" song on the album, the feel of the hole song and the intensity of the horns in the climax at the end makes this one of my top favorite songs of 2005. The rest of the songs never reach the intensity of "Oslo Skyline" and they tend to be more airy and lightweight. And those two previous adjectives are perfect describing the heavenly "Swedenborgske Rom" in which they replace their horns for their own vocals in the beginning of the song, a very passive and delicate atmospheres in the middle and in the end a very heartfelt playing by these wonderful guys.

What We Must is the more melodic and emotional album from Jaga Jazzist. It may be caffeine free, but it's still a wonderful album and they're still true to their sound (whatever that may be). I'll recommend this album to fans of post-rock since the delicate and electronic atmosphere this album has will appeal these fans more than any other.