Just Mustard WE WERE JUST HERE
Just Mustard's WE WERE JUST HERE arrives as a nocturnal leap into melody and machine, a record in which sonic texture and vocal intimacy push the band toward moments of luminous euphoria. Critics point to the title track, “POLLYANNA”, “SILVER” and “DREAMER” as the clearest examples of that balance - songs where propulsive rhythm meets mesmeric vocals to create both danceable fury and cinematic stillness.
Across four professional reviews the album earned a 77.5/100 consensus score, with reviewers consistently praising Katie Ball's foregrounded voice and the record's interplay of darkness vs light. Praise centers on how drum pacing, distorted guitars and layered repetition turn noise rock into a textured, three-dimensional soundscape; the title track and “POLLYANNA” recur in multiple reviews as standout tracks, while “SILVER” and “DREAMER” are cited for their near-motorik momentum and emotional clarity. Critics note occasional flattening on songs like “DANDELION” and “SOMEWHERE”, but most agree the strongest moments answer the question of the best songs on WE WERE JUST HERE with urgency and focus.
While some reviewers flag uneven spots, the prevailing critical consensus frames the album as a compelling sonic evolution for the band - a fusion of gothic mood, dream-pop subversion and industrial rhythm that stakes a claim as one of Just Mustard's most immediate and affecting collections. Below, detailed reviews unpack how those standout tracks and textures shape the record's uneasy, exhilarating atmosphere.
Critics' Top Tracks
The standout songs that made critics take notice
WE WERE JUST HERE
4 mentions
"The title track showcases this best; whilst still leaning towards their usual warped, electronic influences"— The Skinny
POLLYANNA
4 mentions
"peaking at points including DREAMER and opening track POLLYANNA."— The Skinny
OUT OF HEAVEN
3 mentions
"while OUT OF HEAVEN showcases the group’s focus on writing more fully encompassing songs,"— The Skinny
The title track showcases this best; whilst still leaning towards their usual warped, electronic influences
Track Ratings
How critics rated each track, relative to this album (0-100). Only tracks that made critics feel something are rated.
POLLYANNA
ENDLESS DEATHLESS
SILVER
DREAMER
WE WERE JUST HERE
SOMEWHERE
DANDELION
THAT I MIGHT NOT SEE
THE STEPS
OUT OF HEAVEN
What Critics Are Saying
Deep insights from 4 critics who reviewed this album
Critic's Take
Just Mustard's WE WERE JUST HERE finds the band leaning into melody without abandoning their warped machinery, and the best songs - “POLLYANNA”, “DREAMER” and the title track “WE WERE JUST HERE” - show why. The record foregrounds Katie Ball's mesmeric voice, which rises higher in the mix on “POLLYANNA” and “DREAMER”, giving these tracks immediate emotional clarity. The title track unfolds that brightness into loops and industrial rhythms, producing a tangible feeling of light and euphoria that makes it a standout. Other highlights like “ENDLESS DEATHLESS” and “SILVER” underline the album's newfound immediacy of feeling while still keeping the band's disorientating edge.
Key Points
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The best song(s) pair Katie Ball's higher-fronted vocals with melodic clarity, making POLLYANNA and the title track especially effective.
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The album's core strength is its balance of warped electronic/noise elements with a new, palpable brightness and immediacy.
Themes
Critic's Take
Just Mustard’s WE WERE JUST HERE finds its best tracks in the title cut and the woozy “Out Of Heaven”, songs that turn the band’s menacing noise into blissful propulsion. The reviewer keeps returning to “Dreamer” as the album’s emotional centre, its lines - "I don’t wanna go where I can’t feel a thing" - pinning the record’s search for feeling. Opener “POLLYANNA” and “Endless Deathless” are praised for eruptive guitars and danceable fury, while quieter moments like “The Steps” are noted as rare lulls. Overall, it’s a blinding, three-dimensional noise record that reaches for euphoria while embracing the spaces in between.
Key Points
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The title track is best for fusing krautrock and dreampop into a synthy, standout highlight.
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The album’s core strength is turning menacing noise into danceable, euphoric moments while balancing darkness and light.
Themes
Critic's Take
Just Mustard’s WE WERE JUST HERE is at its strongest when individual songs marry claustrophobic texture with propulsive rhythm, which is why the title track and “SILVER” stand out. The reviewer's ear lingers on the title track - a centrepiece where drum pacing, distorted guitars and Katie Ball’s hypnotic refrain lock the band between Joy Division and LCD Soundsystem - and on “SILVER”, whose direct vocal and near-motorik repetition evoke a midnight drive. Lesser moments like “DANDELION” and “SOMEWHERE” show the formula can flatten, but overall the album’s night-bound dynamics make those best tracks the clearest answers to the question of the best songs on WE WERE JUST HERE.
Key Points
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The title track is best because its drum pacing, distorted guitars and hypnotic vocal place it perfectly between Joy Division and LCD Soundsystem.
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The album’s core strengths are its nocturnal textures, rhythmic propulsion and the contrast between heavy distortion and Katie Ball’s vocals.
Themes
Critic's Take
Just Mustard lean into a cinematic, often bewildering joy on WE WERE JUST HERE, where tracks like “POLLYANNA” and “ENDLESS DEATHLESS” act as the record's most arresting moments. The reviewer's eye lingers on Katie Ball's bewitching vocals and the lush, textured guitars that make songs such as “SILVER” and the title track feel both expansive and urgent. There's a whisper-to-cry dynamic that elevates the best tracks, and the closing “OUT OF HEAVEN” crystallises the album's tumble-from-the-sky reverie. Overall, the best songs on WE WERE JUST HERE are those that balance softness with a quietly mounting intensity, leaving a lasting cinematic echo.
Key Points
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The best song is most effective when Ball's intimate vocals pair with cinematic, textured instrumentation.
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The album's core strengths are its cinematic soundscapes, textured guitars, and a tension between melancholy and joy.