Moonlight Concessions

From the late 2010s through the mid-2020s, Kristin Hersh delivered such an outpouring of music with Throwing Muses, 50 Foot Wave, and on her own that its something of a wonder the musical boundaries between her projects remained relatively distinct. On Moonlight Concessions, however, the lines begin to blur. The Muses 11th full-length shares more musical DNA with the bracing acoustic tones of its immediate predecessor, Hershs 2023 solo outing Clear Pond Road, than it does with the sonic overwhelm of the bands previous album, 2020s Sun Racket. On "Summer of Love," the sawing cellos and the satisfying thump of Hershs baritone guitar rhythms feel more like a continuation of her last album than a new statement. That its not always easy to tell the difference between this album and Clear Pond Road may not matter much when Moonlight Concessions delivers plenty of the things Hersh fans love. She returns to the shores and waterways that populate so many of her songs with the snaking melody of "South Coast," and lets her music sway back and forth between hypnotic moments like "Sallys Beauty" and startling ones such as "Albatross," where her raw-throated rasp is both a force of nature and endlessly compassionate. Hersh described Moonlight Concessions approach as "back to basics," and the chugging acoustic guitars and rattling percussion the Muses rely on tend to make the songs blend together in a mood of earthy tension, with only a few tracks like the taut "Libretto" and "Drugstore Drastic" standing out on first listen. If Moonlight Concessions doesnt quite hit the heights of Clear Pond Road, Sun Racket, and Black Pearl, its still a worthwhile listen -- and reaffirms just how high the bar is when it comes to Hershs music. ~ Heather Phares