University (album)

University is the sixth studio album by the American alternative rock band Throwing Muses, released in 1995.^[3][4] It contains the single "Bright Yellow Gun", the band's first national hit.

University
Studio album by Throwing Muses
Released	January 16, 1995 (1995-01-16)
Recorded	October 1993–October 1994, Kingsway Studio, New Orleans, LA
Genre	Alternative rock
Length	48:32
Label	4AD[1] Sire/Reprise[2]
Producer	Throwing Muses
Throwing Muses chronology
Red Heaven (1992) University (1995) Limbo (1996)

The album peaked at No. 10 on the UK Albums Chart; it peaked at No. 10 on Billboard's Heatseekers Albums chart.^[5][6] Sales were too low for Sire, and the band was dropped from its roster, ending the Muses' major label years.

Production

The album was recorded in the fall of 1993, right before lead Muse Kristin Hersh recorded her first solo album, Hips and Makers. 4AD founder Ivo Watts-Russell convinced Hersh to release the solo album first, in early 1994; University was delayed until 1995. The band's former roadie, Bernard Georges, played bass on the album.^[7]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[8]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[1]
Entertainment Weekly	B+[9]
Knoxville News Sentinel	[10]
Rolling Stone	[11]

The Independent called University "a gorgeous album in parts: it's the most tuneful, coherent and least witchy music Hersh has yet delivered in her Muses hat."^[12] The Knoxville News Sentinel deemed "Bright Yellow Gun" a "too-traditional rocker."^[10] The Boston Globe determined that the album "finds the band and Hersh in good, raw form, mixing up formally inventive songs with sidelong hooks and expressionistic lyrics."^[13]

Track listing

All songs by Kristin Hersh.

1. "Bright Yellow Gun" – 3:43
2. "Start" – 2:47
3. "Hazing" – 3:14
4. "Shimmer" – 3:14
5. "Calm Down, Come Down" – 1:48
6. "Crabtown" – 4:20
7. "No Way in Hell" – 4:44
8. "Surf Cowboy" – 2:45
9. "That's All You Wanted" – 3:26
10. "Teller" – 2:52
11. "University" – 2:12
12. "Snakeface" – 3:29
13. "Flood" – 3:14
14. "Fever Few" – 6:44

References

1. Larkin, Colin (May 27, 2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0-85712-595-8 – via Google Books.
2. "Throwing Muses". Trouser Press. Retrieved June 22, 2022.
3. "Throwing Muses Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic.
4. "Throwing Muses". NPR.
5. "THROWING MUSES". Official Charts. Retrieved June 22, 2022.
6. "Heatseekers". Billboard. Vol. 107, no. 5. February 4, 1995. p. 26.
7. Segretto, Mike (July 15, 2022). 33 1/3 Revolutions Per Minute: A Critical Trip Through the Rock LP Era, 1955–1999. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-1-4930-6460-1 – via Google Books.
8. "Throwing Muses – University Album Reviews, Songs & More | AllMusic" – via www.allmusic.com.
9. "University". EW.com.
10. Campbell, Chuck (January 13, 1995). "Hersh finds her old muse on 'University'". Detours. Knoxville News Sentinel. p. 3.
11. Throwing Muses: University : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone
12. Coleman, Nick (January 13, 1995). "Kristin Hersh hoiks her songs from the closets of her unconscious". MUSIC/POP. The Independent. p. 24.
13. Gilbert, Matthew (January 19, 1995). "THROWING MUSES UNIVERSITY". Calendar. The Boston Globe. p. 16.