Flux Capacitor: Throwing Muses - Untitled (Throwing Muses) (1986)

There's no question that Throwing Muses deserve to be honoured in Flux Capacitor. They molded the then relatively new indie or "college" rock sound in the mid 80s more than most bands (and more than any other female-led band, if that matters), and, as the first American band signed to 4AD, permanently redefined the English label along with acolytes Pixies. The question is which album to pick, as their isn't really an accepted Throwing Muses classic album or ideal starting point. I've decided to go with the officially untitled debut for the same reason it was the first Muses album I listened to: why the hell not?

Cognitive dissonance set in straight away the first time I heard this album. My first thoughts were "this sounds familiar" and "I've never heard anything like this before". Kristin Hersh created the Throwing Muses sound by borrowing from REM, Wire, Joy Division, The Beatles and others, but, like the best innovators, fashioned it into something new. The debut never lets the listener get comfortable because it never sits still; you think the unrelenting post-punk ditty "Call Me" is going to set the tone for the rest of the album, but then the next track slows down the tempo and switches the time signature. The rhythmic shifts never stop, but Hersh's intricate arpeggios knit the whole thing together. Throwing Muses went on to release at least three albums as good as this one, but they wouldn't exist without this initial artistic triumph.

Related:

Throwing Muses - Purgatory/Paradise
50 Foot Wave - With Love From the Men's Room EP

Hunters & Collectors - Horn of Plenty box: The Jaws of Life/Human Frailty

The Jaws of Life (1984) is the point at which Hunters & Collectors started fashioning their jams into traditional song structures. I'm totally on board with that; hmmm, what's that other band I listen to that's influenced by Can and Talking Heads and named after a song by one of them?

"42 Wheels" kicks off with - you guessed it - the sound of a car engine starting, bringing to mind the noise experiments of Sparklehorse a decade later, before that glorious rhythm section stomps out an almost "Rebel Rebel" type rhythm, accompanied by slide and tremolo guitar that goes on to punctuate most of the album. Highlights include the downbeat "Hayley's Doorstep" and an excellent cover of my favourite Ray Charles song "I Believe to My Soul" (shortened to "I Believe").

Human Frailty (1986) takes definite steps towards the Hunters sound that would pack the pubs throughout the remainder of the 80s and 90s, streamlining the songs into more radio-friendly fare. 1985 single "Throw Your Arms Around Me" shows up here and was again released as a single (not for the last time); though barely charting in the top 50, it became one of Australia's most beloved songs of all time, although it sounds out of place here, being Mark Seymour's first attempt at a sensitive pop song. Falconer's drumming is calmer here, but interestingly, Archer changed his bass style little, and didn't really need to.