By Daniel Dessinger
April 18, 2008
I’ll be perfectly honest—I have a giant girl-crush on Kim Deal. It first started when I was in junior high and The Breeders’ smash hit “Cannonball” was all over the alternative airwaves. I was absolutely devastated when I was forbidden to attend Lollapalooza ‘94 to hear them perform live. It really should have been no surprise given my overprotective mother and her dislike of my music. In retaliation, I picked up The Pixies’ 1988 album Surfer Rosa after learning that Deal was the bassist and backup vocalist, and she quickly became my idea of the coolest girl in the world.
Mountain Battles is the first post-Pixies reunion Breeders album, and the only one I’ve really enjoyed since 1993’s Last Splash. I was pretty bummed out when The Breeders went on what I suspected might be a permanent hiatus after Deal’s twin sister Kelley was involved in a drug bust and carted off to rehab. Even though Last Splash stayed in rotation on my CD player, The Breeders fell off my radar until a few years ago. 2002’s Title TK was only mediocre, but I had high hopes after Deal was reported to be writing new music and her sister rejoined the band.
Mountain Battles has a very spare, lo-fi feel to it that conjures up the earlier days of garage rock. Kurt Cobain would have loved it, having been a big fan of Deal and her songwriting before his death in 1994. I love it too, because it takes me back to the days when the label “alternative” really meant something and The Edge wasn’t owned by Clear Channel.
The opening track, “Overglazed,” lets Deal’s voice float over a driving guitar line and crashing drums in a catchy refrain. It is surprisingly short, as are many of the songs on the album. The longest cut is the title track, clocking in at just under four minutes and highlighting Deal’s voice over sparse, subdued instrumentals. Most surprising is the track “Here No More,” a folksy acoustic tune with simple harmonies that sounds like it could have come straight out of the ‘60s.
The album still rocks, however, with tracks like “It’s the Love,” “Bang On,” and “German Studies.” “Walk It Off” is probably my favorite song off the album, calling back to the sound that made The Breeders popular in the first place.
Overall, the album is eclectic and fun, with something to please both new fans and old. Deal is on to something with this latest release—Mountain Battles brings in the darker feel of Title TK and combines it with some of the snappy, sarcastic flavor of Last Splash. It’s full of catchy hooks, transitions and guitar lines that sound like both the best of 1994 and the best of today.
© 2008 – 2010, Daniel Dessinger. All rights reserved.
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Mountain Battles, the first LP from those Deal sisters and their Breeders since 2002′s Title TK, will be released on 4AD April 7 in the UK and the following day in the U.S.
I’m a diehard Pixies and Frank Black fan, but I never really got into the Breeders. I think I may just have to check them out. Nicely written review.
It’s just so close to my story I had to answer. I love Kim so much since I bought The Lastsplash back in ’94. I fell in love with the Pixies also but The Breeders are something like my first love and you never forget your first live. I’ve been lucky enough to see them live last friday in Paris, it was so great to see Kim & Kelley after having listening to their records in heavy rotation. You can check a vid of the show here : http://youtube.com/watch?v=XjIFROic3tY . Cheers and thnx for your refreshing review of his great LP (OK you cannot count on me about Kim, everything she does is great to me !!!!!)