Rock ’n’ roll reunions aren’t necessarily a bad thing. The Stooges (RIP Ron Asheton) got back together for a good run a couple of years back and the New York Dolls are still going strong after reconvening recently.
But what these bands do onstage and what they do in the studio are often two different things. Making a relevant
album post-reunion is never easy. So when Kelley and Kim Deal decided to put their differences aside and re-launch the Breeders, there was initially a good deal of anticipation for their reunion.
Mountain Battles, the album they delivered, however, was pretty forgettable. The same goes for the new four-song EP (with a run of only 1,000 vinyl copies) they’re releasing this weekend exclusively to indie record stores as part of the national Record Store Day campaign (it’ll also be available from digital retailers next week).
The EP's first tune, “Fate to Fatal,” sounds like a bad demo from a bad band, with its Velvet Underground-like intonations and off-key singing. Featuring guest vocals courtesy of Mark Lanegan, “The Last Time” is another
dreary number that’s punctuated by its coarse vocals and amateurish qualities. The cover of Bob Marley’s “Chances Are” fares a little better, though the wispy vocals and placid melodies lack the kind of manic
energy that distinguished Last Splash.
The EP’s final tune, “Pinnacle Hollow,” is better. It has an evocative, soundtrack-like quality to it, even though it just kind of peters off at the end. Come to think of it, that could be a metaphor for this once-great band’s career. —Jeff Niesel
