[rating=6.00]
Between her role in Throwing Muses and 50FootWave, as well as in her own solo career and collaborations, Kristin Hersh has always taken a staunchly individualistic approach to her career. Hersh’s latest effort is Wyatt at the Coyote Palace, the third release in the ground-breaking book-CD format that she began with her previous solo album Crooked and Throwing Muses’ 2013 release Purgatory/Paradise. The double album and accompanying book of lyrics and stories is fitting for someone who has established a reputation as a talented writer beyond lyrics, most notably with her heartbreakingly beautiful firsthand account of her friendship with the late Vic Chestnutt, Don’t Suck, Don’t Die.
Most of the material on Coyote Palace is dark and rightly so, as Hersh seems to be dwelling in a realm of love and loss. “Bright” starts off with a trippy, feedback-laden instrumental before the powerful strumming comes in and Hersh’s shaky vocals stick like a needle. “Bubble Net” features lush layers of banjo and vocals to complement a swelling rhythm while seeming to offer a less bitter take on drug use and the altered state. “Secret Codes” has a sinister, almost bitter tone as Hersh sings poignantly, “you just ache with hope until it goes away”. We are pulled up as “Green Screen” rocks hard and Hersh lashes out against yearning and love with a thumping bassline and shakers. “Hemingway’s Tell” blasts off through a tunnel of distortion before emerging into crisply picked guitar and anti-war lyrics pointing to today’s uncertain, dangerous political climate, giving us a chorus that brings to mind the dreamier work of the Butthole Surfers.
Much of the songs and accompanying prose in Coyote Palace feel dizzying at times as they seem to present a life that is spiraling into the depths of drugs, depression, and heartbreak. At times we feel sad and at others happy, but mostly we are brought into Hersh’s grey landscape. Some of the strongest material comes toward the end of disc two on “Sun Blown”, with its punchy lyrics and Ziggy Stardust-esque guitar strumming backing Hersh as she lets her vocals tear a hole in you, the heavy cacophonous blast of “Soma Gone Slapstick”, and the gorgeous, acoustically picked “Shaky Blue Can”.
If there is one thing lacking on Coyote Palace, it’s that many of these songs sound similar in tone and lyrics. One can’t help but wonder if the strongest songs could have been narrowed down to one album’s worth of material. For longtime fans, this will only bolster Hersh, but for the unfamiliar, there are better places to start. Nonetheless, it’s hard not to admire an artist who has enough faith in herself and her fans to release such a comprehensive collection of new material.
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