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Band

Throwing Muses

4.2 / 5 from 17 ratings across 3 albums
Albums
36
Members
8
Active
1981–present
Origin
United States
Biography

Throwing Muses is a post-punk alternative rock band formed in 1981 in Newport, Rhode Island, United States, that toured and recorded extensively until 1997, when its members began concentrating more on other projects. Originally fronted by two distinctive lead singers, Kristin Hersh and Tanya Donelly, stepsisters who both wrote the group's songs, Throwing Muses are known for performing music with shifting tempos, creative chord progressions, unorthodox song structures, and surreal lyrics. The group was set apart from other contemporary acts by Hersh's stark, candid writing style; Donelly's pop stylings and vocal harmonies; and David Narcizo's unusual drumming techniques eschewing use of cymbals. Hallucinatory, febrile songs by Hersh occasionally touched on the subject of mental illness, more often drawing portraits of characters from daily life or addressing relationships.

Donelly left the band in 1991 and was a member of The Breeders and Belly, before starting to perform solo. She also contributed vocals to the Throwing Muses self-titled album in 2003. Hersh has also worked solo, and currently fronts the power trio 50 Foot Wave (which also includes Muses bassist Bernard Georges). Narcizo works in graphic design and has a musical project Lakuna.

The Groove
Groove by decade

The Groove is music.nw’s own measure of renown — not an opinion, a fact computed from the record. It weighs reach (how many people engaged) against acclaim (how highly they rated it), balanced so a handful of votes can’t outshout a lasting favourite.

Computed the NeuraWeb way, across the whole record. The same yardstick for everyone — which is why the little-known can out-Groove the famous in their own corner.

The trajectory

How Throwing Muses moved

Genre belongs to the record, not to the artist. Every album’s Groove is shared out across the genres it actually is — by how the raters tagged it — so nobody is 100% one thing. Stack that by decade and a career draws itself.

Discography

Throwing Muses EP
Throwing Muses · 1984
The Doghouse
Throwing Muses · 1985
Throwing Muses
Throwing Muses · 1986
House Tornado
Throwing Muses · 1988
House Tornado / The Fat Skier
Throwing Muses · 1988
House Tornado / The Fat Skier
Throwing Muses · 1988
Hunkpapa
Throwing Muses · 1989
The Real Ramona
Throwing Muses · 1991
Red Heaven
Throwing Muses · 1992
The Curse
Throwing Muses · 1992
Snakeface
Throwing Muses · 1995
University
Throwing Muses · 1995
Limbo
Throwing Muses · 1996
1997-02: MSN On Air: Web Services International, Middletown, RI, USA
Throwing Muses · 1997
Album cover
In a Doghouse
Throwing Muses · 1998
Live in Providence
Throwing Muses · 2001
Live In Providence
Throwing Muses · 2001
Throwing Muses
Throwing Muses · 2003
2006-08-11: The Middle East, Cambridge, MA, USA
Throwing Muses · 2006
2006-08-12: Bowery Ballroom, New York, NY, USA
Throwing Muses · 2006
2009-01-16: Beck's Festival Bar, Sydney, Australia
Throwing Muses · 2009
2009-03-14: The Middle East (Downstairs), Cambridge, MA, USA
Throwing Muses · 2009
Live at Primavera Sound, Barcelona 5/29/09
Throwing Muses · 2009
Live at the Middle East
Throwing Muses · 2009
The Season Sessions: Fall
Throwing Muses · 2010
The Season Sessions: Winter
Throwing Muses · 2010
Anthology
Throwing Muses · 2011
The Season Sessions: Spring
Throwing Muses · 2011
The Season Sessions: Summer
Throwing Muses · 2011
Purgatory/Paradise
Throwing Muses · 2013
Dark Blue
Throwing Muses · 2020
Sun Racket
Throwing Muses · 2020
Moonlight Concessions
Throwing Muses · 2025
1988-05-01: Town & Country Club, London, UK
Throwing Muses · —
1989-02-24: Manchester International, UK
Throwing Muses · —
1997-02-21: Tramps, New York City, NY, USA
Throwing Muses · —

Credits

Ranked #6,105 of 14,615 producers — 208.03 career Groove across 9 records.