Throwing Muses

Sun Racket FIRE

Grime and glory aplenty on the Muses’ murky tenth.

As much as vocalist/ guitarist Tanya Donelly’s melodic silver linings are missed on the reunited Throwing Muses’ more recent albums (well, recent-ish; the last, Purgatory/Paradise, was in 2013), it’s heartening to find Kristin Hersh back to her protogrunge roots. Hersh famously feels like a slave to her own songwriting, and this tenth album feels more like a stalking creature than ever, creeping from the murky art-garage depths of Dark Blue, and Bywater sounding as dank, menacing and malformed as their late-80s heyday, even while Hersh is singing about flushing a goldfish called Freddie Mercury to freedom. There’s a filth and frenzy to the likes of Frosting, Bo Diddley Bridge and the otherworldly St Charles that perfectly counterpoints Hersh’s more delicate and intricate solo work, echoed here on cranky junkstore ballads like Kay Catherine, Milk At McDonalds and Sue’s.

Sun Racket is a worthy addition to a formidable canon. ■■■■■■■■■■