During The Pixies’ heyday, Kim Deal always played second fiddle to Frank Black on the songwriting front, but she was certainly never a slouch when it came to penning a tune herself, as attested to by The Breeders’ consistently excellent output. Indeed, following The Pixies’ successful reunion tour, it’s great to see Kim back playing in such an intimate venue with her own band, whose other most notable member, of course, is her twin sister, Kelley.
Kim is quite apologetic about the fact that the group open with a slew of songs from their latest album, Mountain Battles, but really, there’s no need to say sorry. The material skips masterfully from dreamy slide guitar numbers to scintillating rock-outs, which are distinguished by thumping rhythms and instantly catchy melodies. This is indie rock par excellence.
The middle section of the gig is particularly inspired, with the band performing The Amps song ‘Pacer’, swiftly followed by a cover of Guided By Voices’ ‘Shocker In Gloomtown’ and a dark, almost surf-rock tune that sounds like a cut from the Pulp Fiction soundtrack. Then, after Kim mentions that the band caught the Gutter Twins’ show in the Ambassador over the weekend (“Dulli’s from Ohio!”), they kick into the classic ‘Cannonball’, which predictably goes down a storm.
Following a beautiful, slow-burning rocker and an acoustic duet between Kim and Kelley, The Breeders bid us adieu, with just over an hour having elapsed since the performance started. A few more tunes wouldn’t have gone amiss, but the show was certainly great fun while it lasted.