Slightly melancholy, all acoustic first album. Oh man, what a great record!
Realizing the "restraints" that Throwing Muses had on her songwriting, Kristin Hersh used this album to make music that is completely free of any expectations. So, songs like the incredible opener, "Your Ghost" are quite impressive. With R.E.M.'s Michael Stipe on guest vocals and an almost spooky melodic chorus, it's no wonder the song was a hit upon its release. "Teeth" is vintage Kristin Hersh. With lyrics like "This hairdo's truly evil, I'm not sure it's mine" you feel a slight amount of comfort as you have no clue to what's she really talking about. And that's the real brilliant thing about this record. Since it's mostly acoustic, the lyrics are the main attention drawer here, and they are open to so much interpretation. It makes for a record that is infinitely refreshing and interesting. I know acoustic music has somewhat of a bad reputation for being a trademark of prentiousness but, in this case, it's the exact opposite. The album is a great, compelling, and sometimes even fun listen.
~Austin
Slight reworkings of some Hips and Makers favorites plus three new tracks.
Interesting idea, this EP. Kristin took four of her favorite tracks from Hips and Makers and rerecorded them with a string quartet. Songs like "A Loon" and "Sundrops" take on great new revisions ("Sundrops" in particular receiving a great run through). The three new tracks are what to get the EP for however. "The Key" is the best of the new stuff, but she includes an acoustic take on Led Zeppelin's "When The Levee Breaks" which is good if only for the fact that it's so different than the orginal.
~Austin
Merry Christmas from Kristin Hersh
This four song EP is made up of three traditionals and one original tune. The original tune ("Sinkhole") is the one that sticks with me the longest but the whole thing is kind of run of the mill. She puts an interesting arrangement on "Amazing Grace" but for the most part, there's too many religious overtones that it comes off as a tad preachy.
~Austin
Hips and Makers redux
Let me just say that while this album is basically recorded in the same setting as the first album, it really blows that thing out of the water. Her songs this time around are even more emotionally charged and her realization of the acoustic setting is absolutely brilliant. At the risk of sounding corny, I'm going to admit that a good portion of this thing gives me chills -- it's that good. In particular, songs like "Gazebo Tree" and especially "Heaven" hit that heavy emotional note that "Your Ghost" hit so perfectly on the first album. I should really stop comparing the two records because this one really makes that album seem kind of underdeveloped and, well, sort of pedestrian. Fantastic.
~Austin
Scary songs never sounded so good
This was available through live shows and mail order only (and is still available through the store at the 4AD wesbite). It's a collection of Appalachian folk songs passed down to Ms. Hersh from her father. And the songs, for the most part, are your standard plingy happy murder ballad. Yes, I said murder ballad. The songs are so upbeat and fun, you'd never notice that tracks like "What'll We Do With The Baby-O" are talking about smothering a baby to shut it up. Eminem who? It's again, mostly just Kristin and her guitar for the duration of the album.
~Austin
Kristin goes the Stevie Wonder route...
Taking a page from the Stevie Wonder book, Kristin played almost all of the instruments on this album herself (a few drum tracks here and there weren't her). It's her first solo album to feature amplified instruments and a more traditional band backup. When an artist is truly brilliant you can honestly say they have made their best work yet with each record they release. And that is the case here as this was her finest album to date. It's easy to tell most of the songs grew out of acoustic workings because the acoustic is still quite prominent in the mix, among other instruments like amplified guitars, fuzz basslines, electric pianos, and the occassional pedal steel (strictly an atmosphere creator though). There's not a song here that I wouldn't call among her finest. I had a truly difficult time picking a best track (and, as you can see, I didn't really narrow it down too much), and that's very representative of the record. It was recorded at a time when she was still mourning the breakup of her group Throwing Muses, and that comes out in the emotional weight of the material. The songs are very layered, melodic, and almost shockingly well thought out (and even a tad psychedelic at times!), it really is one of the heights of her career. Excellent.
~Austin
Sky Motel was just a warm up, apparently...
As amazing and lush of a record as Sky Motel was, it pales in comparison to the 2001 followup, Sunny Border Blue. SBB is a flat out brilliant record from start to finish. And it puts up a fine argument for the being the best thing that Kristin has ever done -- Throwing Muses or otherwise. It's basically the next logical progression from Sky Motel. And that's the really surprising thing about the album: there are no surprises and it still manages to knock your socks off with relative ease (I was more or less shocked after the third track). Amongst her cover of a Cat Stevens classic ("Trouble") and surprisingly spacious trumpet playing (on "White Suckers"), you get a collection of very personal, catchy, and sometimes even epic songs. Stunning.
~Austin
Kristin live... a very surreal experience.
Until you've seen her live, you just couldn't understand how my eyes sometimes swell up with tears when listening to her live recordings. To see her live is to see a person so dedicated to something that nothing else even matters. On this live two CD recording, you get the full two set show recorded on April 17th of 1998 (though the disc wasn't made available until 2001 as a part of the Throwing Music 'official bootleg' series). Because of the date and the recently released Strange Angels album, most of the material on that album receives an excellent run through. Even some Throwing Muses songs receive great renditions and it's interesting to hear them in an acoustic setting like this. Overall, an essential piece for fans and an interesting treat for the curious..
~Austin
Back to the basics.
A somewhat return to form for Kristin on this album as it finds her back in a mostly acoustic setting. She gets a few helping hands from Giant Sand frontman Howe Gelb and Squirrel Nut Zipper cohort Andrew Bird but for the most part, the record is much like her first few solo records. This album has a much darker overtone to it than anything else in her catalogue and the emotional ante is upped quite a bit as well. It's a very unique record, even within Kristin's catalogue. Maybe not a good first taste, but definitely a must have.
~Austin
If I walk down this hallway tonight, I might end up at the main reviews page.
