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
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