18 months after she released her last solo album, Kristin Hersh returns with her band Throwing Muses for the cleverly titled Midnight Concessions. The album takes on a southern gothic, swamp like feel where the air is thick and heavy. Along with her usual bandmates, David Narcizo on drums and Bernard Georges on bass, the cello of Pete Harvey plays a big role on the album. Songs like the darkly atmospheric “Theremini” have the strings play a prominent role.
“Summer of Love” sees Hersh push the guitar into the forefront as she sings, “finally life as it should have been” which is in contrast to “South Coast” where she sings, “Go down without a fight/No dawn without a light”. On the second half of the album, “Sally’s Beauty” has a hazy, almost eerie feel whereas “Albatross” is more immediate and in the listener’s face where she implores us to “just survive”. While affecting in some spots, there is not enough of those moments on Moonlight Concessions to really make it a great record.
6.5/10
The Light Appears 