Throwing Muses: Throwing Muses : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

Throwing Muses split up in 1997, as the market for thoughtful alternative rock was seemingly disappearing. Now bands such as the White Stripes are on the charts, and the Rhode Island trio has returned for its rawest record yet. Throwing Muses should make sense to fans of the new punk: Like the Stripes' output, the album's sonic simplicity and emotional complications are inspired by blues and folk as well as the Ramones. Former Muse (and ex-Belly leader) Tanya Donelly contributes background vocals to tracks such as "Solar Dip" that throttle and swirl with the band's trademark shifts between 6/8 and 4/4 time.

At the same time, Muses leader Kristin Hersh has revisited the barren strength of her early solo work with The Grotto. The album showcases her inward poetics with acoustic guitar adorned only by violin and piano. The finely focused results are hushed and uneasy. As she sings in "Milk Street," "It's still a tragedy" -- but it's also a triumph.

BARRY WALTERS
(From RS 917, March 6, 2003)