Throwing Muses are back! Back!! BACK!!! with Summer Of Love, for those of us at least on t'other side of the Atlantic Ocean, released in the middle of dark, icy winter. But then, hasn't Kristin Hersh always been a contrary soul?
Since 1st January, I've been taking part in a music challenge called #23DaysOf4AD over on Bluesky, the idea being that you post two 4AD artists/songs per day between 1st and 22nd January.
The 45th and final selection will be on 23rd January, which is apparently 4AD's 45th anniversary.
A little over a third of the way in and Throwing Muses (or Kristin Hersh solo) have yet to appear, but they inevitably will.
It's been over twenty years since Throwing Muses last, self-titled album for 4AD, and nearly as long since Learn To Sing Like A Star, Kristin's final solo album for the label, and I've admittedly only sporadically dipped into the latter's subsequent releases.
Throwing Muses returned a decade later as a 3-piece of Kristin, Bernard Georges and David Narcizo and upcoming album Moonlight Concessions is their third, following Purgatory / Paradise (2013) and Sun Racket (2020).
In the meantime, Kristin has also found time to release Black Pearl (2022) as 50 Foot Wave (Kristin, Bernard Georges and Rob Ahlers) and Clear Pond Road (2023), her eleventh solo album. So, the creative juices are still flowing freely.
And what of Summer Of Love? At the forefront is an urgently strummed acoustic guitar, Kristin's voice, with other elements - Bernard's electric guitar, baroque bows, occasional synths - underpinned by David's shuffling, shaking percussion. Drugstore Drastic, the other album preview dropped last November, follows a similar pattern to great effect.
Moonlight Concessions is out on 14th March, with a vinyl companion Moonlight Confessions, released separately and exclusively via Rough Trade.
Moonlight Confessions is described by Hersh as "how the record sounded before we slowed ourselves down and cleaned ourselves up [...] and while both records have teeth, Confessions are probably spit through pointier teeth."
Either (or both) albums are an attractive proposition. And Throwing Muses are touring Europe in May and June, including a stop at The Fleece in Bristol.
Time to throw myself back in?
Very good news, and thank you for the write up, this would've flown under my radar if not for you.
ReplyDeletePlease tell me (if you haven't already) you are going to include Aldous Harding in your 4AD artists.. can't wait until she releases new material...
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