The Breeders "Mountain Battles" 4AD Sounds like: An aging punk rocker going soft
"Mountain Battles," The Breeders' fourth studio album and their first in nearly six years, betrays more than its fair share of the wear and tear that two of indie rock's most beloved heroines, twin sisters Kim and Kelley Deal, have endured with their age.
It seems strange that only four years ago, Kim and her Pixies band mates were poised to grasp untouchable proportions as a fully reunited and touring band. Pixies frontman Frank Black announced the reunion would include only a few shows at first. He soon discovered his band's popularity had ski-rocketed over the past decade and promptly scheduled more Pixies shows.
Earlier this year, however, Black told The Skinny gossip blog, "the band did a successful reunion tour, but that kind of sizzled out." The return of Pixies glory was no more. Black went back to crafting so-so solo albums; his latest, titled "Svn Fngrs," is out next week. And, obviously, Kim Deal went back to recording material for The Breeders. She can be heard recording Breeders demos in "loudQUIETloud," the 2006 film that documented a portion of the Pixies' reunion tour.
Much like Black's persistent solo work, Kim's latest Breeders material lacks the bite of her previous work. In fact, much of the record sounds rather tame and tentative. The opening track, "Overglazed," bursts forth with Kim's voice - thoroughly soaked in reverb - singing, "I can feel it / I can feel it." A long-lost U2 album instead?
The other songs plod along unceremoniously, some trudging into pseudo-folk territory ("Night of Joy" and "We're Gonna Rise") while others slugging through quirky, Deerhoof-like pop ("Spark").
A few standout rockers, however, manage to save this disc from an especially poor grade. "German Studies" milks its catchy riff and cooing, cat-like vocals for all they're worth. "Walk It Off" features what could conceivably have been a thrown-out Pixies bass line. The song's sharp guitar stabs only remind listeners what excellent ax-grinding Joey Santiago brought to the Pixies' compositions.
Still, "Mountain Battles" stands as a warning to the aging rocker: Don't go soft; grow hard and cold - like Nick Cave, Ian McKaye or J. Mascis.
