The Gig Cartel - Artist profiles: Throwing Muses with Tanya Donelly

Formed in the 1980's by Kristin Hersh and her half-sister Tanya Donnelly, Throwing Muses became the first American band to be signed to the 4AD label in 1986. Probably their best-known album, The Real Ramona was released in 1991, spawning two minor hit singles, Counting Backwards and Not Too Soon, which characterised their moody, acoustic-ambient sound. Shortly afterwards Tanya left to join The Breeders and then Belly, but Kristin continues the Muses with her new line-up.

"Purgatory/Paradise," Throwing Muses' first release in a decade, is both a book and an album. It is uniquely Throwing Muses and yet like nothing they've done before. A lush collection of new songs, essays, artwork and lyrics, it weaves images and music together to create a full-on sensory impression of the Muses' distinctive world. Live, it is an amalgam of musical moments, interspersed with material from years past.