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 The Breeders knew it would take awhile to follow up the Title TK album. And it has, with Mountain Battles out next month. |
When Dayton, Ohio, alt-rock darlings The Breeders released 2002's Title TK, drummer Jose Medeles knew the band had another album in it. It was just a matter of time.
What Medeles didn't know was how making the band's fourth album, Mountain Battles, perfectly described the uphill climb faced by the group, led by The Pixies bassist Kim Deal.
"I knew it would definitely take awhile, especially with Kim getting sober, The Pixies reunion and tour. But it never stopped us from working on music every chance that we had," Medeles says. "When The Pixies would take a break we would work. Exactly when we would finish writing the record and actually get it recorded I had no idea."
The group, performing tonight at the Phoenix Concert Theatre as a Canadian Music Week tie-in show, releases Mountain Battles next month. Medeles says the major change since Title TK has been in the twins, singers and guitarists Kim and Kelley Deal.
"The girls were sober on this record," he says. "I think that's the biggest difference is her (Kim) actually wondering if she could write sober or if she would suck. That was definitely an issue but she's still a genius writer without being under the influence."
The Breeders, which also includes bassist Mando Lopez, started from scratch regarding song ideas with no idea off limits. The results include Regalame Esta Noche, performed in Spanish, and German Studies, which took some time and tutoring to execute.
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"Kelley sings the whole thing in German," Medeles says. "Apparently Germans don't like it but, whatever. It's not like she speaks it fluently, but they wrote the lyrics in English and took it to a German professor at Dayton University and we went through how to sing it in German. I think it's a stunning piece. People really seem to enjoy it. Except for the Germans, everybody else really liked it."
The drummer rhymes off about six songs which were tough to record, such as Istanbul (no, not sung in Turkish), but he has a soft spot for We're Gonna Rise, the first song his newborn son heard after coming home from the hospital.
He also says the record's diversity comes from having free reign creatively without music executives annoyingly looking over their shoulders.
"I think if you look at the past records that the band has put out like (1990's) Pod and (1993's) Last Splash, whatever Kim feels like doing we pretty much do," Medeles says. "We thankfully have a label that understands that and they're patient because the end result is going to be genuine."
Another asset this time around is The Breeders did a lot of rehearsing for these upcoming shows, locking themselves in a Dayton basement and honing the new material.
The only snag might be picking which songs not to play live off Mountain Battles.
"Kim was like, 'Is that lame? We're playing the entire record in the show,' " he says. "But I think we're doing at least seven or eight songs off the new record."
Following CMW, the band heads out on a European tour before another North American jaunt to reconnect with fans.
"I heard on the radio the other day they said we were reuniting for a festival," Medeles says. "I was like, 'No, we're reuniting with the public.' It was a very Spinal Tap moment, like really close to Where Are They Now. So needless to say we're back and it's great."
But how are Kim and Kelley getting along?
"Oh, they're crazy. They're out of their minds. You can put that in big quotes from Jose. They're getting along great but they're crazy."