Limbo now , is actually album number eight for the Boston band . Kristin Hersh had nothing to prove to nobody . Childhood friend David Narcizo was still on the drums sit . Ex guitarist Tanya Donelly was preparing for the release of her first solo album . Bassists Leslie Langston and Fred Abong had deceided to continue their lives outside the music business long time ago . Bernand Georges was now playing the four-chord instrument . In past efforts the Muses combined that sense of madness that had always been their trademark with power ( ” University ” ) , sorrow ( ” Hunkpapa ” ) and ethereal nature ( ” The Real Ramona ” ) . On Limbo they sound plain schizophrenic .

Many fans who adore them will simply be satisfied by watching Hersh , a strangely happy woman perfoming a grey, unhappy rock song in the video clip of ” Ruthie’s Knocking ” . ” Tango ” ‘ s lyrical agenda ( ” thank you for chaining me into bed / that was sweet ” ) and cold , impersonal vocals are indicative of the record’s mood . Not that the energy is not once again here and there are many good ideas to notice ( you would never have imagined how well a cello could fit in a rock tune like ” Buzz ” ) . You can tell that the songwritting is strong and that there’s something special in there but often , it’s simply unpleasant listening .

In conlusion , ” Limbo ” suffers from the same things which made Belly’s ” King ” so problematic in the first place : it deserves respect for sounding messy by choice and carries the power of the mysterious personallity behind it but lacks the overall power to make it matter outside the artist’s fanbase .

Rating: 2 / 5

It’s fantastic art made of pure grit and energy.
Rating: 5 / 5