From David Narcizo's first ratta-tatta snare snaps of on the opener,"Mercury," I knew that this was not the Throwing Muses which picked upwhere they left off with Tanya's departure, nor was it the ThrowingMuses of the later 1990s. This was the thunderous sound remeniscent ofthe Muses that I first fell in love with on their other eponymousalbum. It's unsurprising, as this time around there's no major labelexpecting a blockbuster hit single, nor are there high production costssunk into the mix. The music was recorded in gangbuster marathonrecording sessions over a three weekends, and the raw, blisteringenergy is a very, very welcomed sound. Kristin Hersh's vocals punctureholes in an already densely packed mix of raunchy, distorted guitars,pounding basslines and driving drums from what is still a very smallkit by most standards. Be prepared for many unconventional chordstructures and melodic movements and songs which switch gears numeroustimes with swift tempo changes. Combine that with Hersh's lyrics whichneed years of therapy by a team of experts to completely unravel. Eventhen, it's nearly impossibly to tell if she's telling the truth or not,going from caustic to apologetic often within the same song (likewishing the subject of "Civil Disobedience" would choke on an aspirinand then confessing how much she's still in love). The slower songs,like "Pandora's Box," and "Speed and Sleep" are never ballads: theyjust provide a very slight bit of breathing room before the chorusesand blaring guitars stomp in. Just as I'm thinking that much of thisalbum sounds as if the band is deftly dodging high-speed traffic,recording on the pavement of a multi-lane highway, freeway referencesare made on "Status Quo!" There's still the occasionaly frisky, playfulmelodies, like both the jovial guitar riff and lyrics on "Portia,"where Hersh talks about frat boys sleeping together and how "all theworld loves a lover." "Halfblast" is probably the closest the band willget to a hit single on this record, with backup volcals from TanyaDonnelly and a singalong chorus which is nothing but an optimistic gem,counting the blessings of the beauty of people, nature and the skies.Even the album's closer, "Flying," takes an unconventional album-endingapproach, as it's aggressive, upbeat and driving as much of the rest ofthe record, without the cadence of a closing track. This approacheffectively is appetite-wetting for whatever's next from the group, andgives whoever's lucky enough to catch the Muses live something tofeverishly anticipate.samples:
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