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Rating: When it comes to American indie rock, an important name not to forget is Throwing Muses. They were the first American band to sign with the English label 4AD, with which the Pixies would later also collaborate, who were introduced to the live scene by Throwing Muses.
At the time of this album, "The Real Ramona," the band consisted of the three original members, Kristin Hersh and Tanya Donnelly on vocals and guitars, drummer David Narcizo, with the addition of newcomer Fred Abong on bass. This was the last studio work with Tanya Donnelly (and the only one with this lineup) who subsequently left the band to join Kim Deal's Breeders and then formed Belly.
The band's discography includes several albums, but "The Real Ramona" is definitively the most complete work, best summarizing everything Throwing Muses created over the years: a perfect fusion of sharp melodies accompanied by a stronger pop turn, making the result exquisite. The cover features an emblematic vintage photo of a bourgeois woman with teased hair and barefoot, looking towards the camera with her hands clasped; drummer David Narcizo stated that it was Hersh's grandmother. Narcizo also mentioned that the recording process was tense because Donnelly wanted to leave the band, which produced tension even though they were sad about her departure. Furthermore, he added that producer Dennis Herring made a significant contribution but was also irritating during the studio development.
The album, released in 1991, achieved moderate success, driven by two singles in rotation on MTV: "Counting Backwards" and "Not too soon." Two of the best pop-rock tracks that subtly and instantaneously penetrate the mind. Remember the incredibly powerful "Hook in her head," a splendid pre-PJ Harvey gem bolstered by Narcizo's distinctive drum touch, a track that starts gently before unleashing its full grit, one of the album's high points. Additionally, "Ellen West" denounces anorexia, the harmonious delicacy of "Graffiti," the granitic "Red Shoes," "Honeychain," and the closing "Two steps," the quintessential ballads, delightful and alluring. The only tracks authored by Donnelly are "Not too soon" and "Honeychain"; everything else is the work of Hersh. Twelve pieces of timeless beauty that definitively consecrated the band as one of the best indie rock formations of the time. Unfortunately, a record currently difficult to find in stores, which deserves to be known even by those who did not experience (for age reasons) that musical period through a good reprint.
After "The Real Ramona," Throwing Muses continued to release albums with highs and lows, but certainly, one of the subsequent memorable works is the ever-reliable "University" from 1995.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 Counting Backwards (03:15)
Counting backwards I count you in
I don't remember him
I don't remember
In time I rope you in again
I try and turn you back through him
I built a tower in my bones
I spill the mortar through my home
Don't let your heartbeat keep you safe
No telling what keeps me awake
One hundred fingerprints I hear
A hundred linger in my ear
Measure fortune killing time
04 Graffiti (02:37)
I see the sun rise over this wall,
I watch it break and slide, See my name
See my name on the wall
I tried to walk on this wall
It fell right under my feet, Now I only lean
Only lean on the wall
I throw an egg at this wall
I watch it break and slide, See my name
See my name on the wall
09 Not Too Soon (03:09)
She colourblind tired eyes
Her hallway aching
She'll never move him - likes it that way
He's just a walker and he'll never stop walking away
It's not too soon he said
It's not too soon at all
You might as well be dead he said
If you're afraid to fall
I said -
I know her
She said -
Why do you stare so hard
Wrapped up like a doll in bad dreams and broken arms
Make these old bones shiver
It's not too soon he said
It's not too soon at all
You might as well be dead he said
If you're afraid to fall
I said -
I know her
The last time I saw you,
You were standing in the dark
And with a freezing face,
I watched you fall apart
It's not too soon he said
It's not too soon at all
You might as well be dead he said
If you're afraid to fall
I said,
done your time
been in your place
I couldn't look you in the face
and tell you that it turns me on
it makes my stomach turn
I know her
11 Say Goodbye (03:54)
Say goodbye
Kick her legs, kick her down
Say goodbye
Kick her legs, kick her down
12 Two Step (04:34)
Two step, Behind the rest, One fingertip too long
A hole, A hole in the box they carry, Pours sugar in the road
Pours dimes in diamond jim,
Two months to fill him in A hole...
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