Kristin Hersh Learn to Sing Like a Star

Kristin Hersh has long been established as one of America's most talented songwriters in a 20-plus year career that's taken in roles as leader of Throwing Muses, the somewhat louder 50 Foot Wave and as a solo artist. Learn to Sing Like a Star is the latest episode of the latter following a stint with 50 Foot Wave, a group formed due to the unavailability of the Muses' drummer David Narcizo, though he's the featured sticksman here.

Coming to prominence on the 4AD label, which also featured indie superstars such as Pixies and the Cocteau Twins, Hersh still stood out with a reputation for uncompromising songs that would feature anorexic models and mental illness. Consistently producing gems of albums (most notably Throwing Muses' outstanding The Real Ramona, which belongs in any worthwhile record collection) and playing a mean guitar, she's undoubtedly deserved to reach a wider audience, though her solo career did bring a flirtation with the mainstream when the single Your Ghost became a minor hit in the last decade, no doubt helped by backing vocals from one Michael Stipe.

But to the present. Opening track and single In Shock is an instant highlight. A lovely noise with a classic Hersh melody, it's possibly the most accessible song on the album and deserves more attention than it's probably received, given it's the best single this listener has heard for in the last 12 months.

And thankfully, much of what follows over the next 35 minutes or so lives up to the rousing curtain raiser. Day Glo shakes with menace, with the singer growling that "getting up is what hurts". As she enters her fifth decade on the planet, Hersh clearly hasn't totally mellowed out yet.

Generally, Hersh's solo material has took a more acoustic slant than her band-associated work and that's pretty much the case here, with strings featuring on several tracks

Unlike former band mate Tanya Donnelly, Hersh has never had a sugar-coated voice that brings wider attention (as happened with Belly). At times abrasive, she sounds as much a woman not to be fucked with as she did back in 1986. Possibly enough to put some off further listening, it's certainly one of the most recognisable voices out there and you'd have no one else singing the words to Sugarbaby but Hersh herself.

One minor quibble is that the three short instrumentals (Christian Hersh, Piano 1 and Piano 2) offer nothing of interest but, as a whole album, Learn to Sing Like a Star is a very fine work from a rare talent. Fans will love it and even only half-interested observers will do well to investigate.