Breeders

Straddling the 80s and 90s, we see a flourishing of what has since come to be defined as indie pop-rock. Bands such as Rem, Replacements and Hüsker Dü – the latter especially in its final phase – represent a significant shift from rougher, even hardcore, sounds towards a more pop-oriented palette. The song becomes the focal point of the record, drawing inspiration from classic artists such as the Beatles, the Byrds and the Ronettes, filtered through more oblique arrangements and sounds indebted to the post-punk era. This direction is further encouraged by the explosion of video music in the early '80s, thanks above all to MTV, which gives bands unprecedented visibility through music videos and the platform of mainstream TV. In this way, the public's attention shifts once again towards the song format, much as had happened in the '50s with rock'n'roll, driven largely by the spread of portable FM radio.

The reference scenes for indie pop-rock remain the United States and the United Kingdom, with the catalogue of the independent label 4AD standing as emblematic of the era: based in London, the label was quick to seek out American artists who chimed with its songwriter-driven sensibility (Red House Painters, Lisa Germano, Unrest), pairing them with British acts (Cocteau Twins, Lush, Pale Saints). Within the vibrant musical cartography that sets apart American cities and states, 4AD zeroed in on a cluster of musicians from the Boston area, most notably Pixies and Throwing Muses, also releasing a number of side-projects, among them Breeders, the band formed by Kim Deal (Pixies) and Tanya Donnelly (Throwing Muses). Deal's contribution to her main band's compositions, as on "Gigantic", the song that stands as the emblem of the Pixies' output, along with her distinctive bass style and tone, spurred the musician to seek out other outlets for composing and arranging. Her desire to channel her creative energy elsewhere was also fuelled by the contingent troubles of the Boston quartet, at a time when their leader, Black Francis, was beginning to style himself as something of a one-man band, going so far as to head out on tour without the rest of the group.

The first result of the collaboration between Deal and Donnelly is the album "Pod" (4AD, 1990), produced by Steve Albini and recorded at Palladium Studio in Edinburgh together with bassist Josephine Wiggs (Perfect Disaster) and drummer Britt Walford (Slint). Despite solid sales and glowing critical reception, Donnelly left the Breeders to devote herself full-time to a new band, Belly, another act firmly rooted in the American indie pop-rock ferment of the era. Kelley Deal, guitarist and sister of Kim, stepped into her place, while on drums, after several lineup changes, Jim Macpherson settled in for good. The band also found its definitive home in the Dayton, Ohio area, marking a further departure from the world of the Pixies.

These are the signs of a crisis that, starting in 1990 with the release of "Bossanova" (4AD/Elektra, 1990) and continuing through 1991 with "Trompe Le Monde" (4AD/Elektra, 1991), led in January 1993 to the Pixies' first breakup, announced by Black Francis on Bbc Radio 5 without the knowledge of the rest of the band.

"Last Splash" was recorded over the course of these three turbulent years, from 1990 to 1993, and crystallizes Kim Deal's inventive songwriting style, confirming her as one of the most compelling figures on the independent music scene. Produced this time by Kim alongside Mark Freegard, across Coast Recorders in San Francisco, Brilliant Studios and Refraze Recording Studios in Dayton, the ensemble's sophomore album lays out, in fifteen tracks never running longer than 5 minutes, a fresh, eclectic and sophisticated brand of indie pop-rock, one that falls under a genre the industry and media had by then already dubbed "alternative rock" following the commercial explosion of grunge. The sound of "Last Splash" is steeped in psychedelia and power-pop, rough distortion and singalong choruses, irony and melancholy. It hits us right from the opening "New Year":

I am the rain

I am the new year

I am the sun

I am the rain

I am the new year

I’m the way

It's true

Which brings us straight to one of the album's most iconic tracks, "Cannonball", originally titled "Grunggae" in the demos. The song's brilliance rests mainly on four elements: the opening chant; the drum-and-bass groove that opens and drives the guitar's legato riff; the muted guitars of the unexpected, chaotic chorus:

I know you, little libertine

I know you're a cannonball

I'll be you're whatever you want

The bong in this Reggae Song

Hey now, hey now,

Want you, Koo Koo, Cannonball

In the shade

The album is dotted with a string of bittersweet indie songs rooted in 60s music, like the light orchestration of "Invisible Man", the Spector-esque reverb of "No Aloha", the surf-rock of "Flipside" and the instrumental psychedelia of "S.O.S", perhaps the track closest to the Pixies. Among the songs we can unquestionably call "Breeders-esque" are "Do You Love Me Now?" and "Drivin' on 9", a country-flavored cover of Ed's Redeeming Qualities: songs with a special knack for pairing Deal's beguiling voice and rounded melodies with Kelley's jagged, cutting guitars.

Very much in Breeders fashion too is the impulse to break the mold, veering off and shifting direction, as happens on "Mad Lucas", a hushed ballad sung by Deal that echoes the strumming of the Velvet Underground and the acid distortion of Spacemen 3, or on "Saints", a kind of irreverent parody of macho rock'n'roll posturing. The song precedes the album's second single, "Divine Hammer", a catchy, irresistible chant hailing the "One Divine Hammer", which we can, with a smile, metaphorically link to the "Big Big Love" of "Gigantic".

The icing on the cake - bringing us back to our opening remarks - are the three music videos produced to promote "Last Splash", which became fixtures in the rotation of shows like Mtv's "120 Minutes". These are the videos for "Cannonball", directed by Kim Deal and Spike Jonze, "Divine Hammer", directed by Kim Gordon and again by Jonze, and "Saints", directed by Frank Sacramento, all of which highlight the absurdist side of the Breeders' imagery, with the ironic, nonsensical approach that defined them. Footage of the band in the studio or on stage alternates with a theatre of the absurd in which a ball, at times taking on the band's likeness, rolls through city streets, while the group's members don disguises ("Cannonball"), even a balaclava ("Saints"), and a hammer takes flight, awaiting Kim's ascension to heaven as a saint in red or a nun in white, serene in her sneakers as she flies over traffic ("Divine Hammer"). Meanwhile, the single "Cannonball" enjoyed great success, reaching No. 44 on the Us Billboard Hot 100, No. 40 on the Uk Singles Chart, and even No. 8 in France.

With "Last Splash", Kim Deal and the Breeders redrew the map of indie pop-rock songwriting after the post-punk/new wave binge of the 80s, which had left a significant mark on the music of originally college-rock bands such as Rem, B-52s and Pylon. The album delivers a wide range of musical and emotional shades, but above all frames the awareness, imagination, and restless, fascinating character of Deal's songwriting and performance, through out-and-out pop-rock gems like "Cannonball" and "Divine Hammer", among the most iconic songs of the entire US indie pop-rock/alternative rock era.

The first chapter of the Breeders' career would close in 1995, with the release of Kim's solo album "Pacer" (4AD, 1995) under the moniker The Amps. Over the years, the band's path would also be plagued by the Deal sisters' struggles with addiction, which prevented Kim's talent from finding continuity in her artistic output. The Breeders would indeed return to activity in two further periods - from 1996 to 2003 and from 2008 to the present day, i.e. 2024 - focused mainly on live performance. Recent news, meanwhile, reports that Kim Deal will release a solo album under her own name by the end of the year, "Nobody Loves You" (4AD, 2024).

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13/10/2024