A note to the children of America: This is not your
parents' Throwing Muses. Sure, 50 Foot Wave features Muses
leader and founder Kristin Hersh, as well as late-era
Muses bassist Bernard Georges. But there is something
fundamentally different in the approach of these two
bands. Where Throwing Muses made a career out of
crafting pensive and emotive art rock, 50 Foot Wave's
eponymous debut features a more immediate and visceral
sound. Riff-heavy distorted guitar, saturated melodic
bass and the machine-gun propulsion of drummer Rob
Ahlers merge to form a bombastic cocktail that's
likely to leave a burning sensation long after it's
consumed.
This "in your ears" approach is only part
of the new philosophy Hersh has adopted while
putting Throwing Muses on hiatus. In addition to the
sonic elements, there are some practical
considerations as well. Instead of following the
standard music-industry blueprint of releasing one new
album every 24 months, 50 Foot Wave will release a
shorter set of six songs, like this debut, every six to
eight months.
Also part of the plan is a shift in
recording philosophy. While many of the Throwing
Muses releases were layered in washes of studio
tracking, 50 Foot Wave have hired engineer and producer Ethan
Allen to keep things simple. Ripping a page from the
playbook of fellow New Englanders Frank Black and the
Catholics, 50 Foot Wave's debut features limited overdubs and
double-tracking in favor of a more spirited and live
sound. This release shows clear evidence of the force
behind this plan, as the volume and intensity sustained
across this debut EP is in the red.
Like any seasoned artist releasing under a new name,
Hersh pulls no punches and places the finest song
first on the EP. "Bug" is an unpolished gem that
showcases her tenacious guitar playing and
brings her addictive, rusty vocal pipes into sway with
the precision of her new rhythm section. A perfect
bridge between the introspection of Hersh's solo
records and the Muses melodicism is formed here, as
elements of each can be exhumed from "Bug." In the
end these are nothing more than strains of the past,
found in a new band brimming with confidence and
excitement.
"Bug" segues into second track, "Clara Bow," which
does nothing to deter the energy of this collection.
Hersh named the track after a 1920s screen legend of
the same name who moved to the desert with her husband
to overcome a bout with mental illness. The
track is a stunner. The guitar skronks like a
saxophonist on amphetamines, Ahlers pounds the skin
off of his drums, Hersh issues a guttural howl, and
Georges holds the whole thing together as if he took
cool lessons from Miles Davis. This is three minutes
and change not to be missed.
Easing off the gas pedal a bit, "Glory Weed" features
some much-needed breathing room in the verses and
breaks, before the choruses launch off again like a
bullet train to Osaka. The song bears some
similarity in vocal melody and phrasing to "Los
Flamingos" from 2003's eponymous release by Throwing
Muses, but that takes nothing away this potent track.
Even though one of the tenets of 50 Foot Wave is an equal
songwriting partnership between Hersh, Georges and
Ahlers, closing track "Dog Days" is an obvious beast
of Hersh's vision. Every trick she's learned over the last two decades is put to use here. Odd time changes, subtly restrained yet
broken vocals, off-kilter guitars and enigmatic lyrics
are met head-on by a fierce and wild full-band
breakdown to close the EP. This roar crafts
a lasting positive message on a slate that had been
wiped clean with this band's formation.
One of the remarkable things about Kristin Hersh's
career is the loyalty her fans feel to each and
every incarnation of her music. For many years it was
the confessional indie-flavored art rock of Throwing
Muses, then it was the stripped-down storytelling of
her solo albums. Now Hersh has headed in a new direction by strapping on an electric guitar and turning up the volume. With the
release of the debut EP by 50 Foot Wave, it is apparent that
nothing has been lost and everything has been gained —
with the best yet to come.
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