House Tornado

by

Throwing Muses

Edit

I bought the Ep cassette of "The Fat Skier" based on an interview in some low-rent alternative rock rag of the day. I remember reading how they would mock the then popular song of the day (won't name names) and think "These girls have something going on ..." When I bought the Ep I was really intrigued by the difficult nature of the music. Its complex and really simple at the same time, which while it might not impact you immediately, has a tendency to grow on you. So much so that I played that thing over and over and over ...

When House Tornado was released, I must have gotten it the first week of its release. No one I knew had a clue who this band were, but this album has remained one of my favorites for years and years. Kristin Hersh's lyrics are so impossible to understand, like some synaesthesias (A condition in which one type of stimulation evokes the sensation of another, as when the hearing of a sound produces the visualization of a color.) nightmare vision of the tedium of daily life. Words and phrases that seem just thrown together that create an image in your mind. Add to that mixture Tonya Donnely's cute oddities, the feminine power of the band is undeniable. Until this time, I had wondered (in my post-feminist way) why there weren't any good girl rockers. The Throwing Muses are an example to them all. A real artist's approach to music.

Even today ... as I'm writing this in 2005 ... I am playing "House Tornado" continuously in my car. Normally I'll move on after an album ends, but this is one of those records that just demands continuous play. Almost as if it has no end or beginning and no matter how hard you try, you can never get to the bottom of the music to find a place where you can sum it up and put it away.

These two records will always be favorites of mine.

There was always always a beautiful antiphasis that made both Kristin Hersh and Tanya Donelly such exciting artists to follow : Back in her Belly days , Donelly was one of the cutest girls to grab and electric guitar and was so damn happy while singing about dead lovers locked in the cellar and decapitated dolls . Hersh , a mother of four , living a quiet family life , rocks even harder and more aggresive now with her new band 50th Foot Wave . Back in the 80's though , the Throwing Muses sounded and were according to interviews , deeply troubled .

THere are many things one can admire in 1987's House Tornado . First of all the brave , unsettling songwriting , consantly changing speeds and moods and ofcourse Hersh's risky , raw vocals . The music shouts out loud ' allergic to top 40 ' . " Juno " and " Gaurux de Larmes " are out of control and wonderful , " A Feeling " a dark , beautiful love song while " Pools In Eyes " finds Donelly all childlike hysteric singing aboout how " i found a little squierel , little dead , little neck , little fist / why did i think of you ? " In a world of global culture where cd releases often focus more on sex-appeal ( r'n'b ) or style ( teen pop ) the Muses can and should be proud of the fact that the made music with personallity, stuff one can use as self defining .

Ofcourse there's another way of looking at it ... people unfamiliar with the Muses' sound will find House Tornado simply too difficult to embrace . It takes a lot of energy and petience to get into their music in generall and it's hard to guess how many listeners will be willing to bother . The lyricsare charmingly mad for some yet totally uncomprenhensible for others . " Marriage Tree " starts off with the line " an old man in a dress / treat me like an 12 year old man " . The tricky confessions continue in " Soap And Water " . " I caught 3 stars and grilled them " declares Hersh . The themes of the songs are blurry . The group often seems to be on this other world of theirs . Ofcourse for many , that is exactly what makes them so essential .

There are no bad tracks in this album there's nothing though as captivating as Hunkpapa's " Bea " or as exceptional as " Hook In Her Head " from The Real Ramona , arguably the band's best offering which every rock fan with a good taste and not necessarily a Throwing Muses fan can enjoy .

A hate-it-or-love-it case then , House Tornado might not be the masterpiece devoted Muses followers claim it to be but is surely a challenge for the listener , something that gets more and more rare to find in a genuin form as years go by .