Album Review: Throwing Muses - "Sun Racket"

 


Blimey, now THERE'S a name I hadn't heard in a long time. I was sort of semi-aware of Throwing Muses in the early '90s as they were a frequent presence on the ITV Chart Show indie chart rundowns with underappreciated gems like Counting Backwards and Shark. The group briefly disbanded in the late '90s but reformed in the early years of the millennium with Kristin Hersh marshalling the band on ever since with Sun Racket being the group's first album since 2013's Purgatory/Paradise.

The surprising thing about it is that (admittedly talking as someone who last heard the band in the mid-'90s) that the group's sound has emerged away from their indie-grunge sound into almost dream-pop style territory. Despite the spiky aggression of opener Dark Blue, the languid Bywater with its lyrics of nightmarish visions is more of a template for what lies ahead on the dreamy likes of Milk At McDonalds, Kay Catherine and the fuzzed-up squall of Bo Diddley Bridge being the sort of songs to seemingly lull you into a false sense of security belying their often disturbing lyrics. It's only really the two minute distorted blast of St Charles and the seasick Frosting that really bear any major resemblance to the Throwing Muses sound from their commercial heyday.

Hersh's voice definitely has more of a smoky lived-in quality to it these days as well which suits the desolate likes of Maria Laguna and the yearning closer Sue's really well. Overall although this is a very different Throwing Muses to the one that disappeared off my radar in the '90s, it isn't a bad place that they've ended up at all and Sun Racket is a by turns disturbing and soothing album which is a good testament to the versatility of this band and Hersh's skills as a songwriter. You can stream some of the album or just buy it from the Throwing Muses Bandcamp page.

NITE SONGS RATING: 🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌑🌑 (8/10)

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