Breeders

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Kim Deal & Co. are back for their 4th full length album and first since 2002’s underperforming but critically acclaimed Title TK. It’s been 18 years since the release of their debut Pod and 15 years since the platinum selling Last Splash brought that infectious Cannonball bass line roaring through the speakers.

Kim maintained in a recent interview with Rolling Stone that Mountain Battles doesn’t stray too far from The Breeders’ classic sound and the Pixies second banana was being truthful. After all producer/engineer Steve Albini who worked on Pod, The Amps’ Pacer and Title TK, is here to collaborate again. The war waged on Mountain Battles is a culmination of sorts; there are elements of each Breeders album that came before, the battle scars can’t go unnoticed, yet through the bursting bombs and shotgun shells there are some new inventive rebel yells to be heard.

The most notable and satisfying surprise is a very interesting, experimental-ish song called Istanbul. The track is narrated by atmospheric vocals, a semi-trademark of Kim’s, and backed by the hollow but apt clicking of drum sticks. The easy chorus of “Where you going? To the city.Where you going? To the city. Where you going? Istanbul.” Will likely be a leading cause of ear worms for years to come.

There’s no obvious superlative hit like Cannonball or Huffer on Mountain Battles. It’s the Love comes close, although it’s main hook does sound remarkably similar to Dinosaur Jr.’s Not You Again. It’s the Love is a tight, bright rock song in the vein of Divine Hammer, destined to become a fan favorite.

German Studies invades at track 5. Kim and Kelly’s foreign, overlapped vocals are jubilant and peppy and the simple hook demands to be heard, like a Nazi chilled out on democracy. The album opener, Overglazed, has Kim proclaiming she can feel it. The echoing vocals and sharp guitar herald back to Splash songs like New Year. But Overglazed doesn’t exactly set the tone for the record; the majority of tracks are lo-fi, stripped down pieces. The Deal sisters are experts at walking the line between Nero and Solaris mindsets. They shift from upbeat to weepy like a manic depressive easing off meds. But instead of a harsh comedown, Kim and Kelley’s transitions are done with flair and ease.

Night of Joy is a billowy bit of sound; the yearning lyrics and mellifluous music epitomize the gloomy-done-right ethic. We’re Gonna Rise plays off the same soft template with a gratifying and sufficient end result. Rising slowly to a rough cord crescendo, We’re Gonna Rise is Kim at her best; a soothing song laced with strife. The deconstructed Spark has Kim “chewing power lines” and making a seemingly aimless song remarkably listenable. In the Pixies reunion tour documentary, loudQUIETloud, the girls can be seen recording the lyrics for Walk It Off. The lyrics sound soft in the doc, but the song is a hard little gem with bouncy bass.

The biggest miss of the album maybe a cover of Regalame Esta Noche. Kelley takes the lead on this Spanish tune she apparently heard on a L.A. jukebox, a little out of place, but kudos for trying something different.

Any Breeders fanatic will love this album. I can see how neophyte listeners may interpret Kim’s haphazard arrangements as lackluster. The playfulness here is spasmodic and eerie at times- collectively Mountain Battles is bang on.

Bradley Turcotte