Fire Vinyl & CDs

Review: Alternative rock pioneers Throwing Muses are one of the earliest allies of Pixies, touring together as some of 4AD's few American bands. They were outperformed by Pixies commercially, but that's not what Throwing Muses are about: they continue to be much loved and continue to provide us with earnest, deeply artful songs. This new album, out on the brilliant Fire Records, was largely written by the band's Kristin Hersch on Moonlight Beach in Encinitas, California - hence the title. The songs were then taken to Steve Rizzo's Stable Sound Studio in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, where beautiful cello parts from Pete Harvey were fused in with acoustic guitars. Hersh might call Harvey the star of the show, but the haunting melodies of her voice, particularly on 'Summer of Love', are achingly beautiful. Throwing Muses remain a beacon of light.