Sky Motel

Kristin Hersh | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 20, 1999)
• Original Release Date: July 20, 1999
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: 4ad / Ada
• ASIN: B00000JCBL
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #180,446 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Echo

2. White Trash Moon

3. Fog

4. Costa Rica

5. A Cleaner Light

6. San Francisco

7. Cathedral Heat

8. Husk

9. Caffeine

10. Spring

11. Clay Feet

12. Faith

13. [Hidden Track]

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Kristin Hersh has been in a constant state of artistic evolution ever since the now-defunct Throwing Muses emerged in 1984. As a solo artist, she has displayed a uniquely unorthodox perspective by incorporating observations about parenthood, adult relationships, madness, and manifestations of life on the fringe. With Sky Motel, Hersh combines the introspective nature of her past solo work with the rocking insurgency of the Throwing Muses. Accompanied by Muses drummer David Narcizo, Robert Rust on keyboards, and guitarist Tom Gorman, she explores themes of faith, emotional ambivalence, and life in L.A. with poetic insight. The music here is powerful and Hersh's vocal stylings are both tough and emotionally vulnerable. Once again, Kristin Hersh reveals herself as a multifaceted songwriter with plenty to say. --Mitch Myers

Product Description

1999 solo album by the former leader of Throwing Muses. 12 tracks, including the single 'Echo'.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars no vacancy, March 26, 2000

By 

Susan (Washington D.C.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sky Motel (Audio CD)

It's a sad truth that Throwing Muses will probably never really reunite, and listening to "Sky Motel" serves to remind us of the majesty, creativity, and absolutely phantasmagoric mood of Kristin Hersh when she's standing in front of a band. Although "Sky Motel" sounds more like a Throwing Muses album than a Kristin Hersh album, it still has that undeniable quirkiness and eerie spook that is present in every chord Kristin plays, and every phrase she utters. "Sky Motel" experiments with different sounds, including the lounge-y "Echo," and even sports an actual radio-ready pop song in "A Cleaner Light." But more impressive are the grinding melodies of "Cathedral Heat," the nothing-short-of-brilliant lyrical play of "Costa Rica," and the kind of love song that only Kristin Hersh could write, "Spring." Kristin obviously misses her Muses, and it's no wonder: she is powerful and masterful when accompanied by a band, as "Sky Motel" gracefully proves. But she is more than capable of carrying the torch on her own, even when playing with a fuller sound than we hear on "Hips and Makers" or "Strange Angels," let alone the stripped-down "Murder, Misery, and Then Goodnight." Throwing Muses was always Kristin's vehicle, of course, and her solo work is only another side of a brilliantly tossed coin. "Sky Motel" is a daring combination of the best of her accoustic work and the most catchy of her Throwing Muses days. "Nothing like chrome when it shines." Indeed!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Kristin Hersh's third solo album is the finest one yet., March 6, 2001

By 

Christopher Culver - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sky Motel (Audio CD)

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.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The hayseed with the song in his heart..., June 2, 2003

By 

Cody "happytragicthing" (PA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sky Motel (Audio CD)

Amazon made a mistake with the track listings - this is what they really are:

1. Echo
2. White Trash Moon
3. Fog
4. Costa Rica
5. A Cleaner Light
6. San Francisco
7. Cathedral Heat
8. Husk
9. Caffeine
10. Spring
11. Clay Feet
12. Faith

It's a really good album, not Kristin's best offering, but still 99% better than most of the junk on the radio. Some of Kristin's most rock-style songs are here featuring her usual brand of witty poetic lyrics, that beautifully raspy voice and some sonic experimentation - notice the chirping crickets which both open and close the album. If you're a first time Kristin listener I'd recommend "Sunny Border Blue" or "Strange Angels" first, and later checking out this album and "The Grotto."