Kim Deal has the biggest set of balls in indie rock.
Not that long ago, she was the fans’ favourite member of one of the greatest bands on the planet and could do no wrong in the eyes of those of us who looked on her adoringly.
That flawless bass sound; such beautiful vocals…for many, she was the vital element of the Pixies. Yet, she walked away to concentrate her efforts on her supposed side-project, The Breeders.
Ha! Side-project? Get the fuck out of here. The Breeders’ fifth album All Nerve is the proof, if any were needed, that Deal made the right call in leaving Black Francis and co to shack up once again with the ‘side-project’s’ classic line-up – Deal’s sister Kelley on guitar, Josephine Wiggs on bass and Jim MacPherson behind the kit.
Bollocks, ladies and gentlemen. This woman has a gigantic pair on her.
The Kim Deal voice is as beautiful as ever. It’s as if the indie rock genre was invented for her vocal cords alone.
The album’s lead single Wait In The Car was a pretty good indicator of what was to come. Sounding more like Title TK (for my money, a quite perfect record) than its follow-up Mountain Battles, All Nerve could be described as a return to form. But that would only be true if Mountain Battles were a disappointment – and it definitely was not.
Still, fans expect certain things from bands that they love and there’s no doubt that All Nerve delivers on that front. Kelley Deal’s sometimes sketchy lead guitar work cuts through gloriously. And even though she’s not on the same level as, say, Joey Santiago, her trademark sound brings an attitude that cannot be replicated.
It sounds like like the old gang are back together and as happy as ever. And if All Nerve is the kind of work they are capable of creating, here’s hoping we don’t have to wait another fucking 10 years for album no6.
Album of the year and we’re only in March? I’d bet my comparatively minuscule testes on it.
Review Gangsta 