The Breeders are an American alternative rock band formed in 1988 by Kim Deal of the Pixies and Throwing Muses' Tanya Donelly. The band has experienced a number of line-up changes; the current line-up consists of Kim Deal (lead vocals and guitar), her twin sister Kelley Deal (guitar and backing vocals), Jose Medeles (drums and percussion), Mando Lopez (bass guitar) and Cheryl Lyndsey (guitar); Kim Deal has been the band's sole continual member. Their first album, Pod (1990), received critical acclaim but was not commercially successful. The Breeders' most successful album, 1993's Last Splash , produced the hit single "Cannonball". The band's fourth album, Mountain Battles , was released in 2008.

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History

Formation

The Breeders' history began when Kim Deal, then bassist of the Pixies, began writing new material while the band were on a post-Surfer Rosa tour of Europe with Throwing Muses. As neither band had plans for the short term, Deal discussed possible side-projects with Throwing Muses guitarist Tanya Donelly. After rejecting the idea of creating a dance album together the pair decided to form a new band. ^[1] They named themselves The Breeders after a folk rock group Deal had formed with her twin sister Kelley Deal in the 1970s. Carrie Bradley, violinist and vocalist in Ed's Redeeming Qualities, was recruited and they recorded a short demo tape. Tracks on the demo tape included early versions of "Lime House", "Doe" and "Only in 3's". ^[2]

With the help of four drummers and bassist Ray Halliday The Breeders completed their demo tape and subsequently played one show at the The Rathskeller in Boston, billed as a "Boston girl super-group". The band sent the tape to the English independent record label 4AD because both the Pixies and Throwing Muses had signed to the label. Upon hearing the tape 4AD head Ivo Watts-Russell remarked "This is absolutely magical, beautiful stuff", and signed them to the label. ^[3]

Pod

The Breeders wanted to re-record the demo tape for a general release. 4AD gave the band an $11,000 budget ^[4] and recruited Steve Albini, who had worked with Deal on the Pixies' 1988 album Surfer Rosa , to record in Edinburgh, Scotland for two weeks in December 1989. The Perfect Disaster's Josephine Wiggs joined the band as bassist. The Breeders were without a drummer, so Albini suggested Britt Walford of Slint join for the recording sessions. Deal met Walford after a Pixies concert in Chicago; Walford agreed to play drums on the album, and joined The Breeders under the assumed name of "Shannon Doughton". ^[5]

The recording of Pod took only a week, so The Breeders recorded several B-sides, a Peel Session and a video for "Hellbound". ^[6] Released on 28 May 1990, Pod , although not commercially successful, received positive reviews from mainstream critics; The New York Times ' Karen Schoemer wrote: "The angular melodies, shattered tempos and screeching dynamics recall elements of each of the women's full-time bands, but Pod has a smart, innovative edge all its own." ^[7]. The album also was famously quoted by Kurt Cobain as one of his favorite records ever: "The main reason I like [The Breeders] is for their songs, for the way they structure them, which is totally unique, very atmospheric. I wish Kim was allowed to write more songs for the Pixies, because "Gigantic" is the best Pixies song, and Kim wrote it." ^[8]

Safari and Last Splash

Following Pod , The Breeders returned to their various projects. The Pixies released Bossanova in 1990 and Trompe le Monde in 1991, but by the end of 1991 were becoming less active. Deal, denied the opportunity to contribute material to a Pixies album, wrote new material for a The Breeders release and recruited Kelley Deal on guitar. The band recorded the Safari EP in late 1991. After the recording of Safari , Donelly left The Breeders to form Belly. ^[9] The Pixies became inactive in mid-1992, so Deal continued to write new material for The Breeders. By this time, Walford had become more reluctant to be identified as part of The Breeders, and was replaced by drummer Jim MacPherson. The band had become a full-time outfit, and opened for Nirvana on their 1992 European tour. ^[10]

With the break-up of the Pixies in January 1993, The Breeders returned to the studio to record their second album. Last Splash appeared in August 1993 to widespread acclaim and commercial success. Three singles were released from the album, including "Cannonball", which made it to #2 on the Billboard Modern Rock Charts. ^[11] As a result, The Breeders' visibility increased: 1994 saw Last Splash receive a platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America and the band secured a prime spot on the Lollapalooza tour.

Hiatus

In 1995, Kelley Deal was involved in a drug bust, so Kim Deal formed the side project The Amps with MacPherson, bassist Luis Lerma (member of the Dayton, Ohio band The Tasties) and guitarist Nate Farley, who later joined Guided by Voices. The Amps released the album Pacer in October 1995. Following drug rehab, Kelley started the Kelley Deal 6000 and also formed the Last Hard Men with Skid Row singer Sebastian Bach, Smashing Pumpkins drummer Jimmy Chamberlin, and Jimmy Flemion of The Frogs.

In 1996 Kim Deal reclaimed the Breeders name and played several California dates; the lineup was essentially The Amps augmented by violinist Carrie Bradly. The band made another unsuccessful attempt at recording a third studio album in 1997. Kelley Deal rejoined the band the following year and wrote and recorded songs with her sister, although the only material released during this period was a cover of The Three Degrees' take on James Gang's "Collage," recorded for The Mod Squad soundtrack in 1999. ^[10]

Title TK

The Deal sisters recruited new personnel to play several live shows in 2001, and returned to the studio with guitarist Richard Presley, bass player Mando Lopez and drummer Jose Medeles to record the third Breeders studio album Title TK with Steve Albini. The Breeders were also recruited, in early 2002, to perform in an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer . They were approached by the production staff, after they had been performing the show's theme, originally written by Nerf Herder, as a regular part of their concert set. The episode is entitled "Him", and aired November 5, 2002.

The Breeders contributed the track "Wicked Little Town: Hedwig Version" to the 2003 Hedwig and the Angry Inch tribute album, "Wig in a Box".

In 2004, Warner Music Group announced plans to drop the Breeders from their label following low album sales of Title TK . The decision came with Warner's plans to drop several other artists as well.

Mountain Battles

Mountain Battles was released in April 2008 on 4AD. It features Kim and Kelley Deal, Jose Medeles and Mando Lopez. ^[13] The Breeders have been announced as curators of an edition of the All Tomorrow's Parties festival taking place in May 2009 in Minehead, England. They will pick the lineup and perform. The Breeders' third EP, Fate to Fatal , was released on April 21, 2009. The music video for the title track featured the Arch Rival Roller Girls, a St. Louis roller derby league.

Legacy

Musical tributes

Indie-Rocker Julie Peel covered "Divine Hammer" for a limited edition blue vinyl split single released by indie label American Laundromat Records in December 2006. American Laundromat Records also released an entire Kim Deal Tribute in April 2008 called "Gigantic — a tribute to Kim Deal".

Musical style

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