It only took the Breeders a little under six years to deliver the follow-up to Title TK, which is progress, considering that it was nearly a decade between that album and Last Splash, and especially since Kim Deal was occupied with the Pixies reunion for a couple of those years. Mountain Battles sounds like progress, too: while all Breeders albums have, in varying proportions, a mix of whip-smart pop songs, droning rockers, and experimental tangents, the blend of these sounds hasn't sounded this satisfying since the Pod days. Deal and crew aren't making a big pop push ŕ la Last Splash, and they don't sound as defiant as they did on Title TK -- but, as on that album, Mountain Battles feels like the band are doing exactly what they want and not worrying too much about what anyone else thinks about it. "It's the Love," the song most like the Breeders' quintessential sweet-but-tart punk-pop, is actually a cover of fellow Dayton band the Tasties, and Kim's delivery is so cheeky that it almost feels like she's affectionately sending up that sound. "It's the Love" is placed next to the album's oddest song, which happens to be the title track and finale: full of murky keyboards and a melody that plays hide-and-seek, "Mountain Battles" sounds unfinished and unsettling. Yet there are a lot of other sounds between those extremes, including "Bang On"'s distorted drums and witty guitars, which prove that Deal is still as skilled at pop collages as she was during "Cannonball"'s heyday; "German Studies" and "Walk it Off" should also please Last Splash fans craving more of Deal's sassy pop. However, the flirty, slow-dance cover of "Regalame Esta Noche," which shows off the pure beauty of her voice; the percussive, call-and-response jam "Istanbul," and "Here No More," a country number so simple and effortless it feels like it could be a cover, make Mountain Battles eclectic and even a bit daring. Deal's willingness to let the album's songs take their own paths is even more daring; from "Overglazed"'s impressionistic ock, which opens Mountain Battles with stampeding drums and cascading vocals, to the wandering, surf-tinged ballad "Night of Joy," many tracks feel open-ended and sometimes downright elusive. But, even if "Spark" remains little more than a moody sketch and "We're Gonna Rise" moves as slowly as dust turning in a sunbeam, they add to Mountain Battles' ebb and flow, with each song playing off the other naturally. And, though the album covers a lot of territory -- 13 songs in 36 minutes! -- it doesn't feel scattered; scattered implies no purpose, but Mountain Battles' songs land, eventually, exactly where they need to.
Before the music industry's own personal credit crunch - caused, to varying degrees, by the ascent of the MP3, overpriced albums and the failing, ephemeral, television-created popstar - a good way for people to discover new bands (especially before the internet existed), was by record labels issuing cheap samplers displaying their wares.In fact, label samplers such as Cooking Vinyl's Delicatess...
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The Breeders - Mountain Battles(4AD, 2008)7.5 out of 10Singing "I can feel it!" over and over again, Kim Deal hurtles tumbling with her band out of the speakers on "Overglazed." Two minutes of this excited psychedelic revelry pass, evoking the Who as much as Throwing Muses, and then the Breeders land in the semi-glorious, scatterbrained mud that is the remainder of Mountain Battles. It is the f...
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Wow, I can't believe it's been 2 weeks since the start of Coachella. I was planning to do separate posts about the other great performances I felt were worthy to mention(& hadn't been mentioned much by others of the Coachella crew w/me) but decided to incorporate them into two posts. You're probably sick of hearing about it by now,oh well,too bad, heh.First up, The Breeders were incredibly fun ...
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2:57 mins.Diggin' the new The Breeders(leaked)album(to be released 3/28 in the UK, probably the 29th in the US). It's quite good & some really interesting songs on it. The uploaded song is a really sparse one. I think it's a tribute to the They Might Be Giants' remake "Istanbul(Not Constantinople)". Or maybe it's a tribute to The Four Lads original. Maybe it's a tribute to both. It's a fascina...
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Before the music industry's own personal credit crunch - caused, to varying degrees, by the ascent of the MP3, overpriced albums and the failing, ephemeral, television-created popstar - a good way for people to discover new bands (especially before the internet existed), was by record labels issuing cheap samplers displaying their wares.In fact, label samplers such as Cooking Vinyl's Delicatess...
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Any Breeders fans in the house? Perhaps their last album in 2002 left you hesitant to respond, after all, who can get excited about something called Title TK? Well, Kim Deal and sister Kelley Deal, along with Jose Medeles and Mando Lopez are hoping to win back fans with a new album next April! (Apparently Tanya Donnelly is not Breeding anymore) And this time, it has a name that just resonat...
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The Breeders - Mountain Battles(4AD, 2008)7.5 out of 10Singing "I can feel it!" over and over again, Kim Deal hurtles tumbling with her band out of the speakers on "Overglazed." Two minutes of this excited psychedelic revelry pass, evoking the Who as much as Throwing Muses, and then the Breeders land in the semi-glorious, scatterbrained mud that is the remainder of Mountain Battles. It is the f...
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The Breeders will be in Glasgow, in the middle of their next tour, when their new album Mountain Battles hits the streets (April 8th). First, they will wow audiences at Canadian Music Week and SXSW in N. America. Then, a string of UK shows before returning West for Coachella. Ideally, a full N. American tour would follow the Cali music festival which ends the current list of dates on April 2...
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I replay an interview I did with Matt Ogborn of the Proper Nouns. They have a cd release show at Cafe Bourbon Street this Friday night, May 2. There are other bands, shows and singles hyped. It's all about the hype.Stream: http://patradio.org/blix/wimpy.phpDownload the show by right-clicking ( or Cntrl + click for Macs) and selecting "Save-As" or whatever it's called in your browser:http://pa...
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For those of you that only know "Cannonball" and the debut album, Pod, there was also an interim release, the Safari EP, that's worthy of checking out. Here's a good one from the new album...Enjoy!
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| Title | Lyrics | Buy |
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| 1 Overglazed |
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| 2 Bang On |
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| 3 Night of Joy |
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| 4 We're Gonna Rise |
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| 5 German Studies |
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| 6 Spark |
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| 7 Istanbul |
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| 8 Walk It Off |
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| 9 Regalame Esta Noche |
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| 10 Here No More |
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| 11 No Way |
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| 12 It's the Love |
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| 13 Mountain Battles |
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Click to purchase…
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 "Mountain Battles")
