Search - Throwing Muses :: Hunkpapa

But, hey, its still Throwing Muses!

Terri L. Smith | Central, SC United States | 11/09/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have been wild about Throwing Muses, since being introduced to the Real Ramona. When I finally got my hands on Hunkpapa (not an easy find in the deep south)I was elated. However, this isn't one of my favorites. If I wanted to introduce someone to the Muses,I would use "LIMBO" or "UNIVERSITY". This is not for an infant Muses fan...this has to be for a fan who appreciates their other work. Songs like "Bea" and "Dizzy" are phenomenal songs and I think the Muses always deserve lots of respect for their musical diversity. Kristin is amazing as always...."

Sporadically brilliant

giovanni | Greece | 09/19/2004

(3 out of 5 stars)

"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 ."

Wake up to Beauty and Thrash

Doug Pearson | 06/01/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I used to love to throw this (tape) into a serious powered mixing board LOUD about an hour before school. Driving drums and bass parts..thrashing guitars, and pretty..sometimes Very pretty vocals...What a mix ! I guess my favorite song is Dragonhead..(which has a nice, tuneful guitar part) .. but its all good. I recommend it to anybody and dont feel i should try to compare it to anybody else."