Episode 41: Kristin Hersh – Throwing Muses, 50 Foot Wave

Throwing Muses. Credit: Steve Gullick.

Listen to the Trusty Chords podcast via your preferred platform of choice here.

If you’ve not heard of Kristin Hersh, well, I envy you because she has a rather storied career for you to dive into. 

Having first formed Throwing Muses alongside her stepsister Tanya Donelly in the early ‘80s, the group swiftly became an impressive musical force, with records arriving via the influential 4AD label.

In 1991, Donelly left the group to form Belly (having co-founded The Breeders just a few years earlier), and Throwing Muses continued as a trio. By 1994, Hersh had kicked off a solo career, and in 1997, Throwing Muses disbanded and she went on to focus on her prolific solo work.

By the early ‘00s, she’d become a little bit busy to say the least. More solo albums followed, Throwing Muses reformed, and she’d even begun a new band called 50 Foot Wave. For Kristin, downtime is not something that she does, because it wasn’t long before she became an author as well.

I feel like I need a bit of a diagram just to help sum up how impressively prolific Kristin really is.

But let’s fast-forward a few years, because in 2025, Throwing Muses are back with a new album, with Moonlight Concessions arriving as their first new record in five years. It’ll actually release on March 14th, when Kristin is in Australia as part of yet another tour of the country.

Somehow, her busy schedule allowed her to join this humble little podcast for a chat ahead of what will soon become another full year of music, touring, and songwriting.

Anyway, I strongly urge you to check out Kristin Hersh’s extensive back catalogue (and the new Throwing Muses album when it arrives next month), and once you’re done giving those a spin, have a listen to our chat, and I’ll see you at the end of the episode for some general housekeeping.

Kristin Hersh’s Trusty Chords

Kristin’s One Influential Artist

1. Violent Femmes

Kristin’s Three Impactful Albums

1. Violent Femmes – Violent Femmes (1983)

2. Meat Puppets – Up On The Sun (1985)

3. X – Wild Gift (1981)

Kristin’s Five Trusty Songs

1. Vic Chesnutt – 'Myrtle' (1996)

2. Nick Drake – 'Pink Moon' (1972)

3. Elliott Smith – 'Alameda' (1997)

4. Tendon Levey – 'Tendril' (2010)

5. Yoñlu – 'I Know What It's Like' (2009)