Sky Motel

Another quirky tour de force from Kristin Hersh.

For the non-devotee, this is the Hersh album to own. Far superior to its predecessor, Strange Angels, which was overly poppy and far too whimsical at times, Sky Motel shows Hersh at her most objective and consummate. It's not her finest work, but if one prefers the less emotionally-fuelled side of Kristin's work, then this is the best one to have. Here she successfully combines the rock-pop dynamism of Throwing Muses circa The Real Ramona, with the more thoughtful reflective side displayed on the first and best solo album, Hips And Makers. Lots of strong and imposing melodies, Echo and A Cleaner Light being classic rock-pop numbers. The centrepiece of the album, and the highlight of it, is Cathedral Heat, with its brooding guitars and sharp percussion. It contains some of Kristin's finest guitar work. Halfway through she breaks off into a superb foot-stomping riff, almost glam in its insistence. A couple of the tracks - Costa Rica, San Francisco - have an almost playful charm to them, a mild psychedelic twist. Things become slower and darker during the second half of the album, but she still keeps a tight rein on her muse, with haunting numbers like Husk, Caffeine and Faith. There are a lot of atmospheres created here. The colourful cover of the album reflects the multi-coloured variety of the music contained within. For the more casual listener, this would be the most enjoyable listening experience of all the solo albums.

... It's a direct revealing of her soul to the listener , one would say and indeed he would be right . A complicated musician none the less , Hersh is no newcomer to the female rock scene . She is being fronting The Throwing Muses for years now and has already released five albums as a solo artist . Her records owe much of their charm to the power of her personallity . She is a woman who has " battled her own demons " and won , saw visions and illusions which caused her physical pain while writing many of her songs and all that long before all these female musicians started pretending to have 'mental disorders' just so they could sell some records . She is the real thing . She has always been honest with her public and she deserves credit for it . Never really did she seem to care about topping the charts or anything even remotely close to that . Much of her previous stuff is totally anticommercial , especially one of The Muses' latest releases , 1996's Limbo . " Sky Motel " now is a record as enigmatic as they go . It contains a number of melodies locked into their own private universe ( " Costa Rica " , " San Francisco " ) . What is really difficult to understand is the mood the gifted singer is in while singing lyrics like " God bless the ugly / cheap champagne and blackjack on the bed / i was born in America / born with the fists of a saint ... " . Is she sad , cynical , dissapointed , happy or maybe all these together ? Ofcourse that doesn't mean that Hersh's virtues as a singer-songwritter aren't many because they really are and always present in each and everyone of her albums . " A Cleaner Light " brings in mind some of The Muses' best moments like " Bright Yellow Gun " , " Hush " is mysterious and haunting while " Cafeine " is melancholic and in it's own way romantic ( " I feel your heart beating / i hear your soft breathing " ) . In conlusion ? ... Well it's actually hard to end up to a single simple conlusion about singers like Hersh . The music , the tortured voice , the lyrics all add up to something deeply personal which is natural not to sound appealing for everyone . One thing is sure though : artists like that shouldn't be ignored . Understanding the essence of their work is a challenge , exploring their thoughs is an experience .

SKY MOTEL, Kristin Hersh's third solo album, is the first to feature electric instruments. As a result, it brings the listener back to the fondly remembered days of her band Throwing Muses.Hersh's songwriting on SKY MOTEL is as strong and idiosyncratic as ever, but the electric guitars and David Narcizo on drums give each track an added punch that make this her most accessible solo effort yet. The powerful "Echo" makes an excellent opening. "A Cleaner Light" is a rarity in pop music, a track that is both artistically viable and radio-friendly. "Cathedral Heat" is perhaps the album's highest peak, as Kristin sings "kissing in the middle of a terrible storm." The quiet "Faith" trails off to mark the end of this worthy album.Forgetting about individual tracks and looking at the album as a whole, this disc takes time to grow on the listener, but it ultimately satisfies. Kristin Hersh's lyricism is certainly out of the ordinary, but once you get the core essence of the album, it all flows well.For those who have yet to hear Kristin, I would recommend this over her two previous solo albums, HIPS AND MAKERS and STRANGE ANGELS, as the electric guitars of SKY MOTEL give it a wide range of appeal.

I didn't buy this album until January 2003. First I thought it was an album that I already had, silly me I confused it with "Strange Angels." After borrowing it from my boyfriend, I realized that I needed to buy it!I've been a Throwing Muses fan since 1990 and was ecstatic when Kristin put out "Hips & Makers." I didn't like "Strange Angels" the first time through and for some reason didn't listen to it for several years. I saw her live in 2001 purchasing "Sunny Border Blue" after the show. I didn't realize that I had missed "Sunny Border Blue" coming out because I was so out of the music loop. I hardly knew that the bands I liked had new albums coming out.So I bought this album after borrowing it from my boyfriend and realizing that a lot of the songs on the Works In Progress II were from "Sky Motel."I love this album now! I particularly love "White Trash Moon" after hearing Kristin's story behind the song. "Fog" is a great song too. And "Cleaner Light" has been stuck in my head many times! "Clay Feet" makes me think of Kristin playing on the kitchen floor with her boys, and reminds me of "skating" around the kitchen in my stocking feet as a kid.

Okay, I'm at work, but I just have to review this right now while I'm listening to it. Like most Kristin Hersh and Throwing Muses albums, this one didn't make a lot of sense to me the first time I heard it. Full-band? Huh? What's she on about? But given the chance at rediscovery, I'm really starting to dig it pretty deep. This record is just delicious, chock-full of tantalizing hooks and intriguing innuendoes; just one more reason why Kristin Hersh is one of the greatest (and most popularly overlooked) songwriters and musicians of our time. You lucky jerk. It's a high.

Is this CD as good as "Hips & Makers?" Maybe or maybe not but it is better than just about everything else in the singer/songwriter category that's come up recently. We could opine on the comparisons between these two CDs but at some point we're splitting hairs. One thing is clear though. What goes on in Kristin Hersh's head is the lords own private mystery. She has an ability to tap into a stream of conscious that turns me green with envy. Her signature moving bass line finger style guitar playing has a voice all its own that fits perfectly with her eclectic poetry.