In Thrall is the debut solo studio album by American musician Murray Attaway, released in 1993.[1][2]Geffen Records sent 40,000 free copies to retailers as a promotional effort.[3] Attaway supported the album by touring with Robyn Hitchcock.[4] He recorded a second album for Geffen that the company declined to release.[5]
The Indianapolis Star noted that "a few songs appear contrived here, and the noticeable sardonic flavor of past work along with usual guitar blasts is sorely missed."[13]Trouser Press opined that "the carefully wrought In Thrall comes across a bit more tepid than its title, leaving the conviction of Attaway's observations easier to believe in than his music."[14]Entertainment Weekly concluded that the album's "pleasant jangle and strum and its songs' subject matter—nostalgia for smalltown America—also call to mind some shadowy aspects of his Athens, Ga., hometown peers R.E.M."[12]
The Calgary Herald said that "Attaway's high nasal Larry Gowan-like vocals ... help polish the raw sound and make it well, almost pop-rock."[11]The Washington Post determined that "the fancier settings don't fundamentally alter Attaway's tunes, which are erratic, or his lyrics, which can be overwrought or simply opaque."[9]Rolling Stone stated that Berg "surrounds Attaway's yearning tenor and guitar-based arrangements with cellos, mandolins, headphone-geared sound effects and cheesy keyboards that create haunting atmospheres."[6]
