October 1, 1998
Being a little nutty makes for some great music. Robert Johnson had visions of hellhounds, Syd Barrett could clean out Jerry Garcia's weekly pharmaceutical stash in a day, and Kool Keith (aka Dr. Ocatagon) even checked into Bellevue for a time. Skewed perspectives, whether chemically or biologically induced, give some artists intriguing insight.
Kristin Hersh of Throwing Muses suffers from a form of hallucinatory bipolarity, which may account for the unique nature of their sound. This is pop, but it is perverted, angular pop that is most closely reminiscent of the Pixies, falling somewhere between Surfer Rosa and Doolittle, with the loud, busy dynamics of the former and the insistent catchiness of the latter.
Their earlier work was noisier and more challenging, but with The Real Ramona, Throwing Muses reached an artistic and commercial peak - it is an emotionally and musically complex work, but still flashes gleaming pop hooks that draw blood when they dig in. Hersh's tortured vocals and fascinating metaphors add a palpable tension that is relieved by the angelic harmonies of Tanya Donnelly (later of The Breeders and Belly, two bands which owed much to Throwing Muses' sound). The album is filled with three-minute gems, from the probing bass and compelling melody of "Graffiti" to the haunting vocals and car-alarm guitar of "Counting Backwards". With their intelligent songwriting and deeply catchy noise-melodies, Throwing Muses deserved to be much better known than they are - The Real Ramona is a perfect place for the uninitiated to discover this remarkable band.
- Jared O'Connor
A commercial and
artistic peak