Detroit's Majesty Crush were an arty, idiosyncratic indie rock band with a sound grounded in ambient, guitar-based shoegaze, post-punk, and Motown-influenced soul. Centered on enigmatic singer/songwriter David Stroughter, the band also featured guitarist Michael Segal and former Spahn Ranch members bassist Hobey Echlin and drummer Odell Nails. Largely a cult phenomenon, Majesty Crush achieved a modicum of recognition on the alternative rock scene before label troubles led to their breakup in the mid-'90s.

Formed by Stroughter in 1990, Majesty Crush first began working out their distinctive shoegaze-based sound in the basement of the singer's Indian Village duplex. Drawing upon such wide-ranging influences as Cocteau Twins, My Bloody Valentine, the Velvet Underground, and the driving, R&B basslines of Motown legend James Jamerson, the band crafted a hypnotic if somewhat shambolic sound punctuated by Stroughter's breathy, yearning vocal melodies. It was a sound they debuted on their initial EP, Fan. Anchored by the swoony "Number One Fan," the EP caught on locally, garnering significant airplay in Detroit and across the river in Windsor, Ontario. Also during this period, they opened for a bevy of name acts including Mazzy Star, Verve, Royal Trux, and others.

By 1993, they had signed a deal with Dali Records, then a subsidiary of Warner/Elektra, and released their sole full-length album, Love 15, which found them expanding upon their buoyant, dream pop sound. However, soon after their album was released, Dali folded. The band regrouped long enough to issue the Sans Muscles EP in 1994 before ultimately calling it quits. After disbanding Majesty Crush, Echlin worked with industrial outfit the Final Cut and Stroughter returned in 1999 with the album P.S. I Love You, Liberty or Death, featuring the track "Where on Earth Is Kevin Shields?" In 2007, Full Effect Records issued the career-spanning retrospective I Love You in Other Cities: The Best of Majesty Crush 1990-1995. Stroughter eventually relocated to Los Angeles, where he died in 2017. ~ Matt Collar, Rovi