REVIEW: Throwing Muses, In A Doghouse (Throwing Music/Rykodisc)
- Chelsea Spear
Ten years after influential bands on today's commercial alternative scene made inroads into the American musical consciousness via college radio, and the tombstone might as well be erected: RIP College Rock. On certain New England college campuses, I've found that the heirs apparent to the thrones of REM, the Replacements, and 10,000 Maniacs seem to be the Backstreet Boys, Aayilah, and Usher. Where's a fan of the music that rocked the dorms of yesteryear and a lover of challenging music that sparkles with insight and smarts with life supposed to turn?
One good place to tune in is In A Doghouse, the reissue of the early recordings of influential post-punk band Throwing Muses. This release finally makes the band's eponymous debut availible on American shores, and compiles the EP Chains Changed and early demo recordings on CD. Obviously, longtime fans need this release, but the people who really need to hear this are those who might have caught a glimpse of the Muses' musical magic but didn't know where to start.
In A Doghouse cemented the musical approach that the band would broaden throughout their tenure. Different parts of songs fused unexpectedly, lurching from prettily strummed pop song to asymmetric thrash at a moment's notice. Like many bands of the era, the Muses favoured a jangly guitar sound, but unlike the radio-ready Rickenbacker tickle of REM and their ilk, this band hid the sound underneath a lurching, nauseated bass weave. Thus, the jangling guitar that was a hallmark of power-pop bands of the era was instead changed to the sound of a frayed nerve being hit one more time.
To accompany this musical sense of unease, the Muses complemented their compelling approach with lyrics that gave voice to marginalized mindsets, such as boys dealing with homosexuality in a closed-minded small town, people so hated within their surroundings that they turn to killing, and the popular favourite, young women struggling with mental illness. Rather than glorifying any of these characteristics, or condescending to them from the outside, lyricist Kristin Hersh got into the skin of her subjects, and her scary uneasy lyrics offer much insight but little resolution. Her vocal approach is so angry and passionate that at some points, it sounds like she's vomiting up her lyrics instead of merely singing them.
In A Doghouse offers a look inside how the band progressed from their early days to the music that was finally released as their first few records. The second disc includes "The Doghouse Cassette", the demo tape with which the band procured a contract with the influential British label 4AD. The songs are more raw in their initial versions, with Kristin's bloodcurdling screams in "Hate My Way" and "Vicky's Box" bringing the songs to such an intense, visceral level that they're almost impossible to listen to.
The final part of the album features the Muses' last lineup performing some older, never-before-recorded songs. I don't know about this last part -- the songs are as strong as the material on the album, and hearing the mature and eclectic lineup adds an interesting dimension, but the ingenuity and intensity just isn't there in the same way that it was earlier in the album.
However, this is a small quibble. Listening to the pure-blooded passion that drives In A Doghouse gives ample reason as to why this album has been so revered within the ranks of critics, artists, and lonely college girls alike. In a season where dispassionate R&B is the musical flavour of choice within dormitories, hearing something that can change lives through the mere excitement and energy contained within is refreshing. This should give those ivy-covered walls the shaking that they've needed for quite some time.
