Throwing Muses – Sun Racket
(Fire Records)
Reviewed by Tim Gruar.
Alt-rock heroes Throwing Muses prove they just keep getting better and better. On ‘Sun Racket’ Kristen Hersh (vocals, guitar), Bernard Georges (bass) and David Narcizo (drums) serve up their most provocative, yet hypnotizing work to date – augmented by compelling vocal performances and crunchy, raw guitars. They’ve just released their tenth album, which was inspired, at least in part, by Hersch’s near-death experience on a California beach and has references to water and remaining buoyant, self-confident, in the face of adversity.
In 2013, Hersh’s 25-year marriage folded, she was broke and unsupported. So the music she wrote in response was literally and metaphorically all “about drowning in one way or another,” as she told media at the time. Water and all it’s dangers seem to be a recurring theme. In her most recent ordeal, Hersh was lying on a beach in California during a hot day. She’d taken the prescription tranquiliser Klonopin and consequently fell asleep just as the tide was rolling in. When she awoke she’d been washed out to sea. Despite being a triathlete and a strong swimmer she found herself in serious trouble. A lifeguard swam to her aid but also became trapped by the strong current, with both struggling and near to blackout. Finally, the pair found a weak spot in the undertow and were able to make it back to shore. The songs that came in the aftermath of that event formed the infrastructure that holds ‘Sun Racket’ together.
Throwing Muses have been the darlings of indie rock since Hersh formed the band at their Rhode Island High School with her step sister Tanya Donnelly (later of The Breeders and Belly). From their earliest days they’ve been able to combine grunge’s growl and grace with heavy staccato ambience and dreamy shoe gazer swagger. On this latest album they return to grunge-led riffing, especially on the opener ‘Dark Blue’. Cleverly opening with a nonchalant strum before changing tempo – almost as if the band aren’t sure what song they are playing. The chugging rhythm is in complete contrast to Hersh’s lyrics that invite the listener in to her esoteric agenda. The song finishes as chaotically as it started. Time’s up, just go home.
Then there’s the sunny waltz melodic drift of the single ‘Bywater’. It’s a song with hidden depths, buried under layers of obscure, teasing lyricism. When I first heard these lines, I struggled to find the connection to her drowning near miss : “Whose goldfish in the toilet? / Don’t flush it, it’s Freddie Mercury / Shining orange / Unhinged / A mustached amputee, heading out to sea”. Perhaps an odd reference to her own threatened mortality, Hersh sings with dark conviction but her lines are almost laughable nonsense. But look deeper and you’ll realise that there’s true craft at work here. Each line is both emotional and starkly revealing, yet there’s no sense of schmaltz or cliché here. It’s like a moment of clarity during a hallucinogenic dream sequence.
At times Hersh is more honest than a private confessional. She addresses her own dark past, traversing the often fraught relationship between accountability, truth and humility. On ‘Milk At McDonald’s’ she sings “Such a relief you weren’t there to see me that way / I woke up today / I don’t regret a single drop of alcohol / Or saying no when I came / Wanted us to stay there forever/ That was my greed.” Is this a poet’s way of speaking out at her AA meeting? A way of unburdening without full revelation? Some matters are best left unsaid, it seems. She’s certainly taking ownership while acknowledging her own selfishness. But she’s also more confident now and can assure her listener, leaving them in a better place, too.
With the water theme, there is also a sense of a self imposed isolation tank session – floating alone in an emptiness of our own making. Only then can there be some acceptance of one’s own individuality. In ‘Frosting’, she looks at vanity and self-worth with thinly veiled references to Icarus: “The wax in your feathers melts / Frosting on the foam /In heaven maybe they don’t call you crazy / In heaven take me over.” Because of the way she casually delivers these lines it’s hard to know if she comes down on the positive or negative side of the question.
While Hersh’s vocal delivery is still the raunchy, raspy voice of a 100 per day habit, her approach has become even more sultry and casual. It showcases her ambivalence to her own trademark mystic poetry, throwing the lines away into the wind. This juxtaposes with the angular avant-garde chord arrangements and Narcizo’s unique drum style – where he favours a snare over cymbals, a trick learned from his early days playing in brass bands. Georges’ bass has been amped up on many places to give more volume to these songs, swelling them to almost larger than life.
Even in their most chaotic moments, the instrumentation’s never conflict with the singer. Like early REM tracks, the voice is more like another instrument in its own right. You see this most clearly on ‘Bo Diddley Bridge’. Hersh perfectly matches a blaze of guitar noise with her own rough, yet feminine delivery giving you layers upon layers of sound. This, quite clearly, is a musician’s tune. She’s showing off years of experience gleefully running against the grain of conventional commercial wisdom.
Sun Racket is the perfect mix of calm and calamity. With short evocative lyrics, challenging but still hook-laden instrumentation’s and Hersh’s unique charismatic vocals this is a well crafted album. It will challenge you, even capsize you, but it’s well worth the listen – over and over. But it’s not just the sheer skill that makes this one a winner, it’s the soul baring honesty that continues to shine through. Despite remaining successful over the years, this is not a complacent band, content to just keep their head above water. No one wants to go to their shows just to hear the ‘hits’. This is a band that remains original and endlessly creative. If you enjoy collecting the classics on vinyl, then you better get saving because this one is definitely worth the investment.
If you enjoyed this content, please consider donating towards the running of Ambient Light, covering expenses and allowing us to expand the coverage you love by visiting our PressPatron page.