The Breeders

The Breeders are an American alternative rock band formed in 1988 by Kim Deal of the Pixies and Throwing Muses' Tanya Donelly. The band has experienced a number of line-up changes; the current line-up consists of Kim Deal (lead vocals and guitar), her twin sister Kelley Deal (guitar and backing vocals), Jose Medeles (drums and percussion), Mando Lopez (bass guitar) and Cheryl Lyndsey (guitar); Kim Deal has been the band's sole continual member. Their first album, Pod (1990), received critical acclaim but was not commercially successful. The Breeders' most successful album, 1993's Last Splash, produced the hit single "Cannonball". In 2007, the band announced their next album, Mountain Battles, released in April 2008. I don't post whole Breeders works, only the albums i like. Enjoy 'em...

Before The Pixies came along, Kim and her twin sister Kelly had an act in the early 80s called The Breeders. Not much came of it, as it was mainly just for fun, until Kim Deal wanted to do a side project from The Pixies. She picked up the old name and recruited a few other people from different bands to record an LP. Thus, the very raw and underappreciated first album, "POD".

"POD" is very broody and melodic throughout the album which, in contrast to the female vocals, sets a different stage from The Pixies. The whole album is very raw, very honest, but so catchy the listener can't help but get a song or two stuck in their head from time to time. There's a lot of short and silly songs scattered throughout "POD", but the highlights are within the more developed tracks like the catchy "Hellbound", or a very well done, arguably transcending, version of The Beatles "Happiness Is A Warm Gun". Though any Pixies fan should really appreciate The Breeders, they should not necessarily compare them, but consider them as separate bands with their own respectable contributions. There's pounding drums, scratchy guitars, heaviness without sacrificing melody, a perfect case being "Iris", and intelligent humor, all of which would make anyone tired of the monotonous emo or indie scene of today very satisfied.

The Breeders sound is pretty, but still dark. In its raw nature, it may take a few listens to really appreciate everything "POD" has to offer, but it is definitely worth the purchase.

Pod (1990)

01. Glorious
02. Doe
03. Happiness is a Warm Gun
04. Oh!
05. Hellbound
06. When I Was a Painter
07. Fortunately Gone
08. Iris
09. Opened
10. Only In 3's
11. Limehouse
12. Metal Man

A look at my cassette collection told the tale: Heart, KISS, Roxette, Duran-Duran and worst of all, Scorpions. If it was played on MTV, I listened to it. Sure, some alternative music stuck in there now and then, but nothing made a big impression or changed the way I listened to music until one single came along – "Cannonball" by The Breeders.

I can't really put my finger on why that song struck a chord with me. Was it that groovy bass line? The sweet deadpan harmonies by the sisters Deal? The absurdist lyrics? That inspired video co-directed by Kim Gordon and the then unknown Spike Jonze? Whatever it was, "Cannonball" essentially changed my tastes in music and opened the door to a wealth of Alternative rock bands and kick started my own obsession with girl rockers. Last Splash remains a staple in my music collection and I even still have that ol' audio cassette sitting in my closet.

The Breeders started as an outlet for Kim Deal's songwriting outside of the Pixies. She recruited Throwing Muses guitarist Tanya Donnelly, Slint drummer Britt Walford and Perfect Disaster bassist Josephine Wiggs and recorded Pod. As Black Francis announced the disbanding of the Pixies via a press release, Kim Deal reintroduced the Pixies with twin sister Kelley, Wiggs and drummer Jim MacPhearson and a new record, Last Splash. With the help of the single "Cannonball," The Breeders practically owned the Alternative market. The video was in heavy rotation on MTV and if Kim Deal wasn't already an indie rock demigoddess with the Pixies, she certainly was after that single arrived.

Last Splash isn't a perfect record. It's uneven, some songs reaching blissful fuzzed out heights, some songs sounding half-thought out and messy. But by no means should The Breeders be relegated to Alternative One Hit Wonder status. Last Splash is imaginative, fragmented and fascinating blend of sounds resulting in a vast collage of inspiration. It's an album that rivals the Pixies weaker albums and the whole of Frank Black's solo career.

Songs like "Cannonball," "Divine Hammer", "Mo Aloha" and "Drivin' on 9" still bring a smile to my face and I can't help but sing along. It deserves its status as a must-have for Alternative rock fans. For myself, Last Splash will always hold a special place for me

Last Splash (1993)

 01. New Year
02. Cannonball
03. Invisible Man
04. No Aloha
05. Roi
06. Do You Love Me Now?
07. Flipside
08. I Just Wanna Get Along
09. Mad Lucas
10. Divine Hammer
11. S.O.S.
12. Hag
13. Saints
14. Drivin' on 9
15. Roi (Reprise)

Nine years have passed since dishevelled, lazy grunge was 'now' and The Breeders released their second album, Last Splash to a platinum reception with their debut, Pod firmly under their belts.

In the interim the Deal sisters have been dealing with their respective addictions. Kim's compulsive studio habit and Kelley's compulsive drug habit have kept them away from the record-buying public until the endless song-tweaking and a change of line up resulted in their third, painfully but not intentionally, intimate album: Title TK. In This album Steve Albini worked as an engineer (he doesn't want to be called as a producer).

Title TK (2002)

 01. Little Fury
02. London Song
03. Off You
04. The She
05. Too Alive
06. Son of Three
07. Put on a Side
08. Full on Idle
09. Sinister Foxx
10. Forced to Drive
11. T and T
12. Huffer

Now, sisters Kim and Kelley Deal reconvene for a set that steals home while the reunited Pixies play footsie in the studio waiting room. "I can feel it . . . oh, oh, oh, oh," Kim shouts over a Keith Moon-style drum assault on "Overglazed," teetering over what sounds like the best indie-rock orgasm ever. But soon enough, shouts of "I love no one/And no one loves me!" and "I've been waiting for a message all night!" sound like a generation of pissed-off women fogging their iPhones. Steve Albini from Shellac (Nirvana, PJ Harvey), among other producers, keeps things raw; indeed, the record's primitive art punk sometimes echoes Nirvana. But that's appropriate: Lauding life's crappiness and occasional okayness in English, German and Spanish (see the classic Mexican ballad "Regalame Esta Noche"), Mountain Battles is a record the late Breeders fan Kurt Cobain would have loved. 

Mountain Battles (2008)

1. Overglazed
2. Bang On
3. Night Of Joy
4. We're Gonna Rise
5. German Studies
6. Spark
7. Istanbul
8. Walk It Off
9. Regalame Esta Noche
10. Here No More
11. No Way
12. It's The Love
13. Mountain Battles


*click on album title to download