David Koresh Superstar

Giving this LP brownie points as a Texan, turning the Waco standoff into a concept album is such a great idea and the execution (plus many mentions of towns I’ve spent time in) made a bizarre, tragic footnote in history into a gripping musical experience. Not usually one for narrative lyricism, but The Indelicates have a knack for character-based songwriting that offers plenty of personality without toeing the line into Broadway-level shmaltz. The instrumentals pull in just enough folk and indie elements to feel fresh, and the production is unobtrusive and clean. One of those albums that made me sit up and pay attention while listening, didn’t expect to get so invested but this was a cool (and worthwhile) add to the list for sure.

David Koresh Superstar is a concept album by English indie band The Indelicates about the Waco siege. Most of the lyrics are told from the perspective of Koresh, his followers or the police. The music is the musical take on pop, rock, disco. It's ok, but not very interesting. The idea to do something with this subject is not a bad idea, the musical format does not feel appropriate though.

I rolled my eyes and wanted to skip this, but I persevered and was completely blown away by how impressive this is! Incredible. I was worried that this would come off wrong… but to the contrary this was quite an intriguing listen that had me thinking a lot. Bravo!

I thought this would be eye rollingly edgy or cringeworthy sort of winky. But it’s actually very earnest and quite good? It sort of is transcendent and earns its big ending. What a treat

Really enjoyable, it had a big Hadestown vibe, but with more government fuckups. Good pick.

I didn’t really enjoy this album, but I found the underlying concept interesting, thought-provoking and, at times, horrifying. I do appreciate that from art though, music doesn’t always have to be about entertainment; sometimes it can make you think, even if you don’t particularly like it. Wow, reading that back… has this project made me unbearable?

I think the world is a better place without an album dedicated to the David Koresh story. 1/5

So dumb.

Huvitav idee ja hea muusika.

The Waco siege began the day after I turned eight. I was in second grade, my first year of school after we moved from Arlington to Houston. I was somewhat aware that the standoff was taking place, but other than people saying that Waco was an acronym for We Ain’t Comin’ Out, I don’t remember a whole about it from my own memory. Many years ago, I watched some documentary or fictionalized series about it, but I can’t remember which one it was, but I remember finding it incredibly interesting. I have no idea what to expect from this album about Koresh and the siege, but what a wild topic to cover, especially for a band from England. I hope the music here is as interesting as the concept. Man, while this isn’t the sort of thing that I would ever care to revisit, I think this is a solid album. Even though I don’t remember which Waco siege documentary I watched, I remember being surprised at how sympathetic I felt towards the innocent lives lost during the botched raid, and this album brought up a lot of those feelings too. It’s easy to brush off the Branch Davidians as a bunch of cooks, and while stockpiling illegal arms is certainly a crime, there were a lot of innocent people who lost their lives in this raid. Did these people die from their own naivety? Were they disillusioned by the world, and Koresh offered them a new vision for their faith? At what point does religious fanaticism descend into something more dangerous, and who decides when that becomes a bigger threat? I think this album’s lyrics do a great job of humanizing what led to the failed raid, and what happened on that day. As much as I enjoyed the overarching story of the album, I wasn’t that wowed by the music itself. However, I did really love “I Don’t Care If It’s True.” I have no idea what instruments were used, but this song almost had a sophisti-pop sound to it that I really enjoyed. I don’t think I would ever come back to this album, but I think it’s well made, and I appreciate the things that it made me think and feel.

I should hate everything about this album but somehow I don’t. I like a little quirky album. Also interesting to find the female vocalist started the Pipettes, a band I enjoyed as well.

Favourite songs: I Am Koresh, Something's Goin' Down in Waco, John the Revelator, Ballad of the A.T.F., A Single Thrown Grenade, The Road From Houston to Waco Least favourite songs: The Siege 4/5

3.5/5

Well, this sounds utterly appalling. Every new piece of information in the description made me less inclined to want to listen to it, and given I know who David Koresh was, I didn't want to listen to it to begin with. However, it does have Jim Bob from Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine involved, so that means I actually have to try it. .... It is nowhere near as country as the description had me believe. And it's quite absurdly trite for someone as grim as Koresh. If I had all the albums in the world to choose from (and I did) I wouldn't choose this one - but apparently someone did, and by jove I listened to it. It sure is something that multiple people put their effort into.

Rating: 6/10 Best songs: I don’t care if it’s true

I mean, there are worse ideas for concept albums. This is pretty well executed and musically pretty good, but in general I'm not a big fan of musicals. 3 stars.

The concept of this sort of irritated me. Koresh was a child raping con artist peice of shit who could have prevented every single death that happened in the Waco raid, however criminally the government botched it. English musicians cosplaying Texans for this gag on Webber's rock opera doesn't make it any more endearing. Aside from the overall unsavory presentation, as an album of music it is well executed.

This is good on paper and okay! in my ears

What a concept eh

An interesting topic for a concept album. I don't think these were the right people to do it. It's also too musically at some points. It's not bad just... an interesting choice. My personal rating: 3/5 My rating relative to the list: 3/5 Should this have been included on the original list? No.

Why? David Koresh... Waco.... Not interested The music is fine. Definitely would not listen to again because of the subject and content. 2.5

This is an okay rock-opera 3*

Musically it's fine, though fairly bland. The subject matter is obviously a stupid childish joke. Which makes it fairly painful to listen to, and certainly not worthy of any relisten.

Alright

Why?

This is a 3 but knocked down to a 2 because of how they pronounced "Houston". In all seriousness, while a neat concept album (and a topic close to where I live), it just didn't have any re-listenability to me which is a requirement for a 3 in my book.

Nerdy folk rock opera about the 1993 Waco Siege. They call it a concept album because that sure is a concept alright. More musically flat and uninteresting than I expected. Seems like this is more of a lyrics band and that's fine, but I feel like a dramatic real-life story like the Waco Siege deserves a much more dramatic musical spin than the pretty generic folk pop that most of these songs end up being. Not something I'd personally ever return to, but a cool oddity on paper. Fanbase also seems really dedicated, because this is not a band you'd expect to have an entire college essay length Wikipedia article.