Number 8 of 2007 — Kristin Hersh: Learn To Sing Like A Star

Has it really been four years since I wrote about The Grotto? Between that album and this, its successor, Kristin Hersh continued to dabble with 50 Foot Wave, an angular rock-oriented trio that bridged and extended from her solo work to (and beyond) the more corrosive Throwing Muses songs. Learn To Sing Like A Star, a title that arose from a spam e-mail Kristin received, brings a lot from that period. In fact it’s a trifecta of all her work beginning at the last Throwing Muses album, 2003’s self-titled masterpiece.

Even with this knowledge Learn To Sing Like A Star still remains rather surprising. Lead single and first track In Shock bawls with the same energy as the Muses’ Bright Yellow Gun, but lurches from one heart pummeling beat to the next, with former bandmate David Narcizo taking care of those drums. Kristin’s piano accents the rhythm and longtime cohorts Martin and Kimberlee McCarrick provide an emotional counterbalance – the whole making ‘You wanted to be wanted’ sound so painful.

For much of the album, tracks connect in sequences of light and dark, acoustic and electric. Sometimes both. Three varied incidentals, perhaps remnants waiting to be cultivated in the future, separate sections of the album. The rest are typically autobiographical snippets twisted inside daydreams and nightmares. There are other common factors: the McCarricks’ strings form a critical part of many of the songs, giving Kristin an opportunity to let her tangling guitar lines weave underneath, no longer needing them to direct melodies. Listen to the refrain and breaks in Nerve Endings to hear how this works best, emphasising the lyrics “Nerve endings think they see / Pleasure coming I know better”. A violin traces the verses of Peggy Lee, whilst guitars underpin the choruses – every song is an experiment to confuse expectation. That each works so well illustrates her song-birthing skills.

Because of this subtle adjustment, when the guitars do lead, they make the most of it. Day Glo and stand-out track Wild Vanilla glister with buzzing acoustic strums, visceral slides and picks; both paired with the sweetest choruses. Ice too (tying with Vertigo and Sugarbaby as Winner of The Loveliest Chorus Competition) highlighting with a simple piano line and weeping strings. But if you’re looking for penetrating grooves, Wild Vanilla is clearly ahead: shuffling rhythms drive the song forward before being joined by a guitar-organ solo that fades out far too quickly.

David Narcizo’s drums are generally more subtle than one would have predicted. His trademark military style litters many tracks, recalling less rocky Throwing Muses songs, particularly on Winter, but they never dominate. Even when they reach further forward, Kristin’s choruses lap at the tumbling beats to bring everything to order.

I once considered Kristin Hersh’s solo albums to be unaccompanied or alternative reinventions of missing Throwing Muses albums. Learn To Sing Like A Star proves me wrong, although poignant closer The Thin Man blows smoke rings around this thought via Limbo’s hidden White Bikini Sand. With this album she reforms that history to mould her second best release. At this moment I can’t imagine anything surpassing 2001’s Sunny Border Blue, but seven years on, Kristin’s CASH Music project is laying new paths – each monthly release a new invention unsullied by concepts of ‘before’, ‘after’ or the weight of (and wait for) an album. She’s now at the point where she can do anything and I’m head over heels in the ozone snow..

In Shock:

Learn To Sing Like A Star – Amazon UK
Learn To Sing Like A Star – iTunes UK
Throwing Music
CASH Music – Kristin Hersh