Never a band to opt for the softly-softly approach, Sun Racket kicks off with the unapologetic Dark Blue — a grab-you-by-the-throat statement of intent, with squalling guitar signalling that Throwing Muses are back.
It’s been seven years since their last LP, the 32-song, divisive Purgatory/Paradise. This time Kristin Hersh (vocals, guitar), Bernard Georges (bass) and David Narcizo (drums) have reined it in.
The album is as accomplished as when the band were in their late-Eighties/early-Nineties pomp. The 10 tracks are laced through with Hersh’s hallucinatory lyrics. Take Bywater: “Who’s goldfish in the toilet? Don’t flush it ... it’s Freddie Mercury, shining orange, unhinged, a mustached amputee heading out to sea”.
Closing track Sue’s is reminiscent of classic 4AD Muses, all picked fuzzy notes with Hersh’s harmonies washing over you. It could be some long lost, undiscovered classic from the golden age of shoegaze, a track that lingers long after the outro.
