958 Throwing Muses - The Real Ramona (1991)

 958 Throwing Muses - The Real Ramona (1991)

Studio Album - Alternative Rock



About the Act:

Throwing Muses are an American Alt Rock band from Rhode Island. They were formed by Kirsten Hersh and Tanya Donnelly who later was in Breeder and Belly. They were formed in 1981, had a break between 1997 and 2003 and are back in action. They have had 10 studio albums. They are known for their unusual songs and lyrics.


About the Album:

"The Real Ramona" was the fourth studio album by the band. 


My History with this Album:

None


Review:

The early 90s were a great breeding ground for this sort of thing, somehow. While the UK was germinating Britpop, the US had a whole slew of bands who were experimenting with being mildly unusual. In 1991 this was a little ahead of that curve, but not a lot. This is far from a homogeneous album there are a lot of different sounds and feels going on. Given they are quite a small band (guitar/guitar/bass/drums + two vocals), and that they presumably took this stuff on tour, their versatility is strong. It's good, musically, it pushes slightly into the weird, both musically and lyrically, but not enough to be off-putting. 

This is all the good, then.  The weak point, to my mind is Kirsten's vocals, which are OK, but not great.  A while back, I reviewed a Belly album, with Tanya on vocals, and maybe expected a bit more as a result. 

Still, it's a strong album and I liked it. It's a grower, I've listened to it about three times today and am starting to feel quite fond of it, like a dog you encounter on holiday. You know you're not going to take it home, but you enjoy your time with it.


7/10


Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/5g52sH6fashPtboffeqjlZ

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLQiex-sV-5aZEu6VQph6Q4dKJdeqvd1H

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Real_Ramona


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