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Following the one-two punch of the harder-edged Throwing Muses and House Tornado, Hunkpapa was the work of a band in a time of re-appraisal and change. The twin songwriting team of half-sisters Tanya Donelly and Kirstin Hersh had settled in to their respective roles. While Donelly presented the sweeter, more melodic and vulnerable side to the foursome, Hersh used her bi-polarity to mine a series of intense and visceral rides through her own psyche.
On Hunkpapa the spoils were divided as before, with Hersh taking the lion's share of credits. But this time her efforts were tempered with a commerciality that had previously been the domain of Donelly. A lot of this comes down to Gary Smith's rather over-lush production. While taking off a lot of the edge, it brings Hersh's 'Dizzy' to life and can't even begin to dull coruscating fare like her tale of a prostitute, 'Bea'.
But what really keeps Hunkpapa in the realm of greatness is the band's ability to keep up with Hersh's idiosyncratic muse. Especially of note is drummer Dave Narcizo whose elasticity makes these angular and punchy slices of college rock come to life.
The album does contain a couple of clunkers in 'No Parachutes' and 'I'm Alive', but Donelly's 'Dragonhead' gives a good indication of her wonderful output to come. Hunkpapa is probably the band's most flawed album, but it still contains riches worth investigating. --Dennis O'Dell
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Hunkpapa might be the least "total" record the Muses made, but it's songs are awesome just the same. There's an element of folk here, as in the opener Devil's Roof, while the good old Bea totally twists all conventions of pop music as only the Muses can do it. Dizzy is a very good pop song, even if Kristin Hersh dislikes it because of its "untrueness". The all-over best tune on Hunkpapa is the strained No Parachutes, with it's monotonous guitar and rose-petally bass. Hunkpapa is perhaps a little easier to get than the two previous records, but the very best rock band in the world never fails you.
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Released two years prior to the bench mark "The Real Ramona", Hunkpapa is a taste of what was to follow in the Throwing Muses road to crictical acclaim.
The coupling of Hersh and Donelly provide the listener with archtypal sound that defined the transition from the flourishing 80's into the destructive 90's. Make no mistake this is American alternative rock at it's best, the road that REM should have taken artistically, the highway that Nirvana could not find technically, the Muses provide the soundtrack to the road movie of our lives.
The coupling of Hersh and Donelly provide the listener with archtypal sound that defined the transition from the flourishing 80's into the destructive 90's. Make no mistake this is American alternative rock at it's best, the road that REM should have taken artistically, the highway that Nirvana could not find technically, the Muses provide the soundtrack to the road movie of our lives.
From the opening of Devil's Roof, Hersh weaves a lyrical maze that one hopes they will never have to navigate alone. The crisp guitars push along at a pace that will slow down for no one. Dragonhead stands out from the rest, not only due to Donelly's penmanship and vocals, but through a re-routing of the musical path, twisted again with Angel.
For fans of the Muses, this must be next album after The Real Ramona in a retrospective of the Muses.
Format:Audio CD
One of the first video clips of the Throwing Muses , " Juno " , showed little more than some images of a woman sitting or making bread - her face remained hidden - plus some clips from one of their live shows . Still it was a suffocating experience , somehow frightening and at the same time highly addictive .
There are moments of similar beautiful intensity in " Hunkpapa " . The speedy " Mania " is one . Hersh's perfomance is so powerful and psychotic . Furthermore " Devil's Roof " is well-written and with a great refrain , " I'm Alive " displays how wonderfully the sweet vocals of Donelly can be combined with Hersh's arresting voice while " Bea " with it's changing speeds and magic melancholia is the album's ultimate highlight . The rest of the tracklist though is not as stong , incuding " Dizzy " a song Hersh herself doesn't sound that proud of really ... " I wrote the song Dizzy to play the game " she said in an interview . " We did House Tornado which was this record on this other planet , really insular and complicated and female . At the time we thought we were just a rock band then everyone heard it and flipped out , especially our american label who said ' why do you have to sound so much like the Throwing Muses ' . We thought ' ok we'll give them a stupid song ' so we did this terrible song and remixed it on this terrible way ... " Not that the song is that bad really - it's just that it's rather harmless for a band which has such a devoted fanbase for being the exact opposite .
The key question concering the Muses and records like " Hunkpapa " today though is whether there is a possibility of an important number of new listeners in the near future . The answer unfortunately seems to be no . Music fans younger than twenty - twenty five will probably not even remember once million selling Belly let alone the Throwing Muses of the 80's and as much as i enjoy 50th Foot Wave and Tanya Donelly's solo albums , i'd wish the band members and 4ad would give some more energy promoting their excellent back catalogue . The Pixies have recently released a best of recollection , a dvd and finished a great reunion tour - all of which gathered important media attention and gave the chance to a new audience - including myself - to get to know and love their music , even now , more than a decade latter since it's initial release . God knows how much albums like " The Real Ramona " , " University " and even " Hunkpapa " deserve similar recognation .
There are moments of similar beautiful intensity in " Hunkpapa " . The speedy " Mania " is one . Hersh's perfomance is so powerful and psychotic . Furthermore " Devil's Roof " is well-written and with a great refrain , " I'm Alive " displays how wonderfully the sweet vocals of Donelly can be combined with Hersh's arresting voice while " Bea " with it's changing speeds and magic melancholia is the album's ultimate highlight . The rest of the tracklist though is not as stong , incuding " Dizzy " a song Hersh herself doesn't sound that proud of really ... " I wrote the song Dizzy to play the game " she said in an interview . " We did House Tornado which was this record on this other planet , really insular and complicated and female . At the time we thought we were just a rock band then everyone heard it and flipped out , especially our american label who said ' why do you have to sound so much like the Throwing Muses ' . We thought ' ok we'll give them a stupid song ' so we did this terrible song and remixed it on this terrible way ... " Not that the song is that bad really - it's just that it's rather harmless for a band which has such a devoted fanbase for being the exact opposite .
The key question concering the Muses and records like " Hunkpapa " today though is whether there is a possibility of an important number of new listeners in the near future . The answer unfortunately seems to be no . Music fans younger than twenty - twenty five will probably not even remember once million selling Belly let alone the Throwing Muses of the 80's and as much as i enjoy 50th Foot Wave and Tanya Donelly's solo albums , i'd wish the band members and 4ad would give some more energy promoting their excellent back catalogue . The Pixies have recently released a best of recollection , a dvd and finished a great reunion tour - all of which gathered important media attention and gave the chance to a new audience - including myself - to get to know and love their music , even now , more than a decade latter since it's initial release . God knows how much albums like " The Real Ramona " , " University " and even " Hunkpapa " deserve similar recognation .
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Hunkpapa
The band's most erratic release to date and their weakest to date. Some songs are brilliant (Bea, Dragonhead, Mania) but overall, the album is uneven and can't decide what kind of... Read more
Published on 9 Sep 2006 by L. Omelasz
Original, interesting and angst ridden!
A burglary deprived me of this album in the early '90s and I am so pleased to have rediscovered with Amazon. Read more
Published on 15 Aug 2001
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