Throwing Muses (1986 album)
Encyclopedia
Throwing Muses is the 1986 debut album of the band Throwing Muses
Throwing Muses
Throwing Muses is an alternative rock band formed in 1981 in Newport, Rhode Island, that toured and recorded extensively until 1997, when its members began concentrating more on other projects. The group was originally fronted by two lead singers, Kristin Hersh and Tanya Donelly, who both wrote the...

, released on 4AD
4AD
4AD is a British independent record label that was started in 1979 by Ivo Watts-Russell and Peter Kent, funded by Beggars Banquet Records, and is still active today...

. This was the first album by an American band to be released on 4AD, which had concentrated primarily on British-based acts up to this point. This release marks a shift in the label's direction; a year later 4AD would sign Pixies based in part on the band's connection to the Muses, and by the mid-1990s much of the label's roster was made up of American bands.

Production

All the songs on the album were written by Kristin Hersh
Kristin Hersh
Kristin Hersh is an American singer/songwriter who performs solo acoustic concerts; she also continues to perform as lead singer and guitarist for alternative rock group Throwing Muses and the hardcore punk-influenced power trio 50 Foot Wave...

, with the exception of "Green", written by Tanya Donelly
Tanya Donelly
Tanya Donelly is an American Grammy-nominated singer songwriter and guitarist based in New England who co-founded Throwing Muses with her stepsister Kristin Hersh. She then went on to work in The Breeders and Belly in the 1990s...

. The album was produced by Gil Norton
Gil Norton
Gil Norton is a British record producer known for his work with such bands as Pixies, Echo & the Bunnymen, Foo Fighters, Tribe, Jimmy Eat World, Dashboard Confessional, Feeder, The Distillers, Maxïmo Park, Counting Crows, Terrorvision, The Triffids, Del Amitri, James, The Feelers, The Beekeepers,...

, who went on to produce albums for Pixies
Pixies (band)
The Pixies are an American alternative rock band formed in Boston, Massachusetts in 1986. The group consists of Black Francis , Joey Santiago , Kim Deal , and David Lovering . While the Pixies found only modest success in their home country, they were significantly more successful in the United...

. The band considers the album to be untitled, with Throwing Muses the name they give to another album released in 2003.

Release history

The album was originally released in the UK by 4AD in August 1986 (CAD607) on LP, CD and cassette. Sometime around the early 1990s, the album went out of print, as plans were made by the band's American label, Sire Records
Sire Records
Sire Records is an American record label, owned by Warner Music Group and distributed through Warner Bros. Records.-Beginnings:The label was founded in 1966 as Sire Productions by Seymour Stein and Richard Gottehrer, each investing ten thousand dollars into the new company. Its early releases as a...

 to issue the album for the first time in the USA, along with 1987's Chains Changed EP, which had also never seen American release. After Throwing Muses were dropped by Sire following the disappointing sales for 1995's critical favorite University, plans for the re-issue were dropped.

The band later resurrected the re-issue project, issuing the 2-CD compilation In a Doghouse in 1998 on 4AD (DAD607CD) in the UK, and on Rykodisc in the USA. This compilation not only contained the debut LP and EP as originally planned, but also (on the second CD) the demo tape that convinced 4AD president Ivo Watts-Russell
Ivo Watts-Russell
Ivo Watts-Russell was joint-founder with Peter Kent of the English indie record label 4AD. He has also produced several records, himself preferring to use the term "musical director" to explain his role in the creation....

 to sign the band; newly recorded versions of songs originally written in the band's early years; and the band's award-winning 1987 video for the song "Fish."

Response

Allmusic calls the album a "powerful debut" whose "startling collision of punk energy, folky melodicism, and Kristin Hersh's mercurial voice and lyrics...puts the work of most self-consciously 'tortured' artists to shame." The review praises the record's "fluid, effortless emotional shifts"--also described as "violent, vibrant mood swings".

Track listing

All songs written by Kristin Hersh
Kristin Hersh
Kristin Hersh is an American singer/songwriter who performs solo acoustic concerts; she also continues to perform as lead singer and guitarist for alternative rock group Throwing Muses and the hardcore punk-influenced power trio 50 Foot Wave...

 except "Green" written by Tanya Donelly
Tanya Donelly
Tanya Donelly is an American Grammy-nominated singer songwriter and guitarist based in New England who co-founded Throwing Muses with her stepsister Kristin Hersh. She then went on to work in The Breeders and Belly in the 1990s...


  1. "Call Me" – 3:59
  2. "Green" – 3:04
  3. "Hate My Way" – 4:06
  4. "Vicky's Box" – 5:09
  5. "Rabbits Dying" – 3:49
  6. "America (She Can't Say No)" – 2:47
  7. "Fear" – 2:45
  8. "Stand Up" – 2:56
  9. "Soul Soldier" – 5:10
  10. "Delicate Cutters" – 3:53

Personnel

  • Kristin Hersh
    Kristin Hersh
    Kristin Hersh is an American singer/songwriter who performs solo acoustic concerts; she also continues to perform as lead singer and guitarist for alternative rock group Throwing Muses and the hardcore punk-influenced power trio 50 Foot Wave...

     – vocals,guitars and synthesizer
  • Tanya Donelly
    Tanya Donelly
    Tanya Donelly is an American Grammy-nominated singer songwriter and guitarist based in New England who co-founded Throwing Muses with her stepsister Kristin Hersh. She then went on to work in The Breeders and Belly in the 1990s...

     – vocals,guitars and percussion
  • Leslie Langston – bass
  • David Narcizo
    David Narcizo
    David Narcizo, born May 6, 1966, in Newport, Rhode Island, United States, is primarily known for his work as the longtime drummer for Throwing Muses....

     – drums, percussion
  • Dave Knowles – additional keyboards
  • Ronald Stone – additional guitar


Production
  • Producer – Gil Norton
    Gil Norton
    Gil Norton is a British record producer known for his work with such bands as Pixies, Echo & the Bunnymen, Foo Fighters, Tribe, Jimmy Eat World, Dashboard Confessional, Feeder, The Distillers, Maxïmo Park, Counting Crows, Terrorvision, The Triffids, Del Amitri, James, The Feelers, The Beekeepers,...

  • Photography – Richard Donelly
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