The Breeders: Pod 1990 + Last Splash 1993

 

The Breeders are an American alternative rock band based in Dayton, Ohio, consisting of members Kim Deal (rhythm guitar, lead vocals), her twin sister Kelley Deal (lead guitar, vocals), Josephine

Wiggs (bass guitar, vocals) and Jim Macpherson (drums). When Pixies bassist Deal and Throwing Muses guitarist Donelly became friends during their bands' 1988 European tour, they pledged to make music together. Initially inspired by the Sugarcubes, they tried their hand at making their own version of dance-pop, recording a version of Rufus and Chaka Khan's "Tell Me Something Good" and the Donelly original "Rise."
                

The earliest incarnation of the band was formed by Kim Deal and Tanya Donelly in 1989 as a

side-project alongside their full-time bands Pixies and Throwing Muses respectively. To record their debut album, 1990's Pod, Deal and Donelly recruited bassist Josephine Wiggs of the Perfect Disaster and drummer Britt Walford of Slint.
                        

Kim's sister Kelley was brought into the band as a third guitarist (though at the time, Kelley had never

played guitar before) in 1992 to record the Safari EP, and shortly thereafter Tanya Donelly left to concentrate full-time on her own new band, Belly, leaving Kelley Deal as the sole lead guitarist; Britt Walford left as well around the same time. With their volatile mix of hooky pop and experimental tangents, the Breeders shaped the early-'90s alternative rock revolution and have forged a resolutely independent path ever since.
          

However, it was 1993's platinum-selling Last Splash -- and its smash hit single "Cannonball" -- that

brought the band's mischievously sexy style to a wider audience while drawing on country, surf, and reggae influences. Their later albums, such as 2008's Mountain Battles, were more stripped down but just as unpredictable. When the reunited Last Splash lineup returned with 2018's tough yet vulnerable All Nerve, the Breeders' enduring influence was apparent in the work of artists like Courtney Barnett, Speedy Ortiz, and Lucy Dacus.
                        

The members of the Breeders began the 2020s spending time on their individual projects. Kim wrote a

solo album; Kelly worked with R. Ring and Protomartyr; MacPherson played with the surf band the Mulchmen, and Wiggs collaborated with drummer Jon Mattock. In 2021, they reconvened to contribute a version of His Name Is Alive's "The Dirt Eaters" to the 4AD compilation Bills and Aches and Blues.
                       

Two years later, the Breeders hit the road to commemorate Last Splash's 30th anniversary with dates at

Coachella and Riot Fest as well as with the Foo Fighters, Belly, and Horsegirl. September 2023 saw the release of a Last Splash reissue that was remastered from the original analog tapes and included two previously unreleased songs from the album's sessions: "Go Man Go," which was co-written by Pixies' Black Francis, and "Divine Mascis," a version of "Divine Hammer" with J Mascis on lead vocals.
                           

THE BREEDERS - POD 1990

                   

On their 1990 debut album Pod, the Breeders -- led by the Pixies' Kim Deal and Throwing Muses'

Tanya Donelly -- prove that they have more potential, and more fun, than the average side project. In fact, thanks to the album's creative songwriting, immediate production (courtesy of Surfer Rosa producer Steve Albini), and clever arrangements, Pod is a fresher and more successful work than the Pixies' Bossanova and the Muses' Hunkpapa, their main projects' releases from around that time. A vibrantly creative debut, Pod remains the Breeders' most genuine moment.

                         

The Breeders – Pod
Label: 4AD – CAD 0006 CD
Format: CD, Album, Repress
Country: UK
Released: 1990    
Genre: Rock
Style: Alternative Rock

TRAXS

               

01. Glorious   3:23
Written-By – K. Deal, R. Halliday
02. Doe   2:06
Written-By – K. Deal, R. Halliday
03. Happiness Is A Warm Gun   2:46
Written-By – Lennon / McCartney
04. Oh!   2:27
Backing Vocals – Michael Allen
Written-By – K. Deal
05. Hellbound   2:21
Written-By – K. Deal
06. When I Was A Painter   3:24
Written-By – K. Deal
07. Fortunately Gone   1:44
Written-By – K. Deal
08. Iris   3:29
Written-By – K. Deal
09. Opened   2:28
Written-By – K. Deal
10. Only In 3's   1:56
Written-By – K. Deal, T. Donelly
11. Lime House   1:45
Written-By – K. Deal
12. Metal Man    2:46
Guitar [Spanish] – Josephine Wiggs
Written-By – J. Wiggs, K. Deal

LINE - UP

              

Kim Deal – lead vocals, guitar
Tanya Donelly – guitar, backing vocals
Britt Walford (credited as Shannon Doughton) – drums, backing vocals
Josephine Wiggs – Spanish guitar and lead vocals on "Metal Man", bass, backing vocals

Additional Personnel

Steve Albini – engineer, spoken vocals
Carrie Bradley – violin
Michael Allen – backing vocals on "Oh!"
    

Flac (24/96) Size: 603 MB

THE BREEDERS - LAST SPLASH 1993 (30th ANNIVERSARY EDITION)

                   

The Breeders will mark the 30th anniversary of their breakthrough second album Last Splash with a new reissue featuring unreleased music — and by playing the record in full on a tour that will include

some dates opened by Belly, the band founded by ex-Breeder Tanya Donnelly. The 4AD label will release Last Splash (30th Anniversary Original Analog Edition) on Sept. 22 in digital formats, on CD and on both black and clear vinyl. The album is remastered for the first time from the newly-found original analog tapes, the label says, and the vinyl was cut at half-speed at Abbey Road for a 45 rpm, 2LP pressing.
                

The Breeders – Last Splash (30th Anniversary Edition)
Label: 4AD – 4AD0611DA
Format: Album, Remastered Sep 22, 2023
Country: UK
Released: 1993    
Genre: Rock
Style: Alternative Rock, Indie Rock

TRAXS

                      

01. New Year    1:55
02. Cannonball    3:33
03. Invisible Man    2:47
04. No Aloha    2:06
05. Roi    4:11
06. Do You Love Me Now?    3:01
07. Flipside    1:59
08. I Just Wanna Get Along    1:44
09. Mad Lucas    4:36
10. Divine Hammer    2:37
11. S.O.S.    1:34
12. Hag    2:55
13. Saints    2:31
14. Drivin' On 9    3:21
15. Roi (Reprise)    0:44
16. Go Man Go    2:16
17. Divine Mascis    2:58

LINE - UP

                   

Bass, Vocals – Josephine Wiggs
Cello, Double Bass – Josephine Wiggs
Drums – Jim MacPherson, Josephine Wiggs (tracks: 5)
Guitar [Guitars], Vocals – Kelley Deal, Kim Deal
Lead Vocals [Lead Vocal] – Kelley Deal (tracks: 8)
Performer [Kenmore 12-stitch] – Kelley Deal
Synthesizer [Moog, Casiotone] – Kim Deal
Violin, Vocals – Carrie Bradley

Flac (24/96) Size: 990 MB