Throwing Muses
Limbo
Throwing Music / Rykodisc
Release Date: 1996
AAt a time when major labels are tripping over themselves trying to snap up anything that even smells like the Next Big Thing, the three members of Throwing Muses are swimming as fast as they can back to indie waters.
Given the its reputation as adventurous and provocative songwriters, it comes as a surprise to many that the band's last seven albums have been major label efforts. In fact, singer Kristen Hersh has been a U.K. superstar since the 19 year-old Rhode Islanders became the first Americans to sign a deal with Britain's 4AD. But it wasn't until The Real Ramona (1991) and University (1995) that the Muses began to show hints that they could wield broad commercial appeal. "Counting Backwards" and "Not Too Soon" made minor waves after Ramona was released, but it wasn't until "Bright Yellow Gun," the high-adrenaline single from University, that the band could boast a modern-rock radio staple alongside the Pearl Jams and Collective Souls.
Which may well be why in July of 1995 Throwing Muses "opted out of" a deal with Warner Bros., formed its own Throwing Music label, and recorded the quirky and endearing Limbo.
The band's balance began to shift in 1991 when Tanya Donnelly -- Hersh's smoother, poppier stepsister -- left to pursue her own projects, most notably the more radio-friendly music of the Breeders and Belly. Hersh tends to favor a more stop-and-go style of songwriting, seen in its purest form in the brooding compositions on Hips and Makers, her 1994 solo effort. Throwing Muses songs tend to smooth out the sharpest of those edges while still showcasing Hersh's gift of taking simple, almost childlike melodies and turning them into troubling, seductive and subversive pop gems.
Subversive pop? Troubling melody? Both are possible when those melodies are like mosquitoes -- at first annoying and disjointed, but eventually burrowing inside your brain and making you listen. And once you listen, you're hooked, awake all night trying to figure out who let these creatures into your mind, but too enthralled to push them out. At these moments, it becomes clear that Hersh's well-documented struggles with mental illness have had a profound influence on her music.
Take "The Field," a pleasant little ditty that starts off with a rockabilly vibe. But then Hersh starts to sing. She sings a sad, soulful melody that seems to have nothing to do with the rest of the song. But after a few listens, you find yourself tapping one foot to what feels like early Elvis and the other to some foreign rhythm that you've only ever heard come out of Kristen Hersh's mouth.
"Freeloader" does the same thing, inserting a bit of folksy guitar strumming before launching into the momentum of the chorus. But probably the best example of the band's penchant for meddling with the listener's expectations is "Tar Kissers." A jaunty little guitar riff and Hersh's bublegum vocals bounce along nicely until you realize she is singing that "kissing you is like kissing gravel." Ouch. After that, the chunky bass that dominates the chorus doesn't seem nearly so incongruous.
In the end, what bridges the disparate elements of a Throwing Muses song is Hersh's quietly powerful vocals. Unlike many of the sweet-voiced female singers who dominate alternative rock these days, Hersh's girlish vocals don't come off sounding insipid, stupidor pathetic. So what if Throwing Muses' arty pretenses keep Limbo from being one of those all-purpose albums that could be you can play morning, noon and night? So what if Hersh sometimes sounds too weird for her own good? In the end, they're going to go their own way, whether you like it or not. And that's a good thing.
-- Lindy Powell
powell@outersound.com
