Hunkpapa

by

Throwing Muses

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This is probably my least favorite Throwing Muses album; I've always been frustrated by the "wet-blanket" production, giving the whole thing a muted, stifled sound. The most egregious example of this is on the song "Take", which sounds limpid and laconic; not at all like the Muses (note: a *vastly* superior live version of this song is on the hard-to-find _The Curse_ live album, and is also on the "Freeloader" single). The horns contribute absolutely nothing. Also stunting this album are what I consider Tanya Donnelly's two worst songs, the embarassingly twee "Angel" and pointless "Dragonhead". Okay, maybe "Dragonhead"'s not totally irredeemable, but it's easier just to lump the two together. ;-)

Okay, now for the good news. Cock-ups aside production-wise, most of the songs themselves are still great. The hidden blessing in having stifling production values is that the *songs* really come through, if they're there (and they are, of course). That's the cool thing about each Throwing Muses album sounding quite different; not having a particular *sound* really forces the *songs* themselves upon you, if you're listening. That's something I've really learned to appreciate more recently, the more I listen. _Hunkpapa_ has many classics; Devil's Roof, Bea, the surprisingly infectious Dizzy, Fall Down, and Mania (in spite of cheesy horns); great, great songs. And I'd like to add, for myself, the hooky, syncopated No Parachutes, which has always been one of my favorites although rarely cited by others for some reason. Also, this album has some of Kristin's best lyrics, intricate and evocative.

One other great thing about this record: Leslie Langston's basslines! Although the production makes the overall sound a bit mechanical, Leslie's incredible bass countermelodies wind around so tightly with their impeccable patterns and propel the songs along wonderfully. I'd say that getting _Hunkpapa_ just to behold Leslie Langston's awesome bass prowess is a good enough reason by itself!

One of the first video clips of the Throwing Muses , " Juno " , showed little more than some images of a woman sitting or making bread - her face remained hidden - plus some clips from one of their live shows . Still it was a suffocating experience , somehow frightening and at the same time highly addictive .

There are moments of similar beautiful intensity in " Hunkpapa " . The speedy " Mania " is one . Hersh's perfomance is so powerful and psychotic . Furthermore " Devil's Roof " is well-written and with a great refrain , " I'm Alive " displays how wonderfully the sweet vocals of Donelly can be combined with Hersh's arresting voice while " Bea " with it's changing speeds and magic melancholia is the album's ultimate highlight . The rest of the tracklist though is not as stong , incuding " Dizzy " a song Hersh herself doesn't sound that proud of really ... " I wrote the song Dizzy to play the game " she said in an interview . " We did House Tornado which was this record on this other planet , really insular and complicated and female . At the time we thought we were just a rock band then everyone heard it and flipped out , especially our american label who said ' why do you have to sound so much like the Throwing Muses ' . We thought ' ok we'll give them a stupid song ' so we did this terrible song and remixed it on this terrible way ... " Not that the song is that bad really - it's just that it's rather harmless for a band which has such a devoted fanbase for being the exact opposite .

The key question concering the Muses and records like " Hunkpapa " today though is whether there is a possibility of an important number of new listeners in the near future . The answer unfortunately seems to be no . Music fans younger than twenty - twenty five will probably not even remember once million selling Belly let alone the Throwing Muses of the 80's and as much as i enjoy 50th Foot Wave and Tanya Donelly's solo albums , i'd wish the band members and 4ad would give some more energy promoting their excellent back catalogue . The Pixies have recently released a best of recollection , a dvd and finished a great reunion tour - all of which gathered important media attention and gave the chance to a new audience - including myself - to get to know and love their music , even now , more than a decade latter since it's initial release . God knows how much albums like " The Real Ramona " , " University " and even " Hunkpapa " deserve similar recognation .