Monday 6 August 2007

THE BREEDERS – POD (4AD)


THE BREEDERS – POD (4AD)

Twins have always been a terrifying concept to me. All throughout my life whenever I have encountered a set there has always been one who I disliked or they disliked me (or it was mutual).

Sounding as if butter wouldn’t melt in its mouth the first Breeders album arrives in charming fashion serving up a series of appetizers that lull the listener into a false of security and transfixing them in a delicate daze. The harmonies that arise from the off come with sense of aloof menace, one that attaches itself through the entire duration of the record and that suggests a degree/level of ESP running through the authors of this work. All in all it insinuates a set of circumstances that can only end in tears.

Unsurprisingly the familiarity of and relation to the Pixies looms heavy over the music, sounding like the legends performing on downers or even possibly at the wrong speed. This is divine and playful stuff. Then the trademark Albini drum sound comes in arriving as subtle as a brick. Yet the tranquillity remains.

A Creepy Crawl atmosphere feels most exposed with their Beatles cover and the finest version of “Happiness Is A Warm Gun” that is ever likely to be committed to vinyl (including the original), which brings a confused air to proceedings.

The gnarly sarcasm flows all the way through the record as “Oh!” just sounds as if the band are drunk having found a violin tucked away in a corner. The simplicity of “Hellbound” stands out as they nonchalantly power out the most ringing of efforts with equal ease.

There is a sweet naivety to the playing of the record, one that suggests adventure and screams side project. Ultimately you get the impression that this record was originally designed to be more fun than competent and as “When I Was A Painter” loops to a conclusion sounding like a person playing on drugs not knowing when to stop, stuck on a mental carousel they are unable to disembark from. In such relaxed surroundings this only adds to the fun.

“Iris” serves as the watermark, the highpoint, the bomb of the album. As Kim sings “oh c’mon, nobody wants that” it conjures up the kind of image that goes with the general being and atmosphere of the album, one of reluctant conflict and intoxicated situations lasting late into the evening through to the following morning. With this song in particular there is a sense of poetic struggle.

Ultimately on this record you can tell that it has been given a lot breathing space, the opportunity to play around with ideas and emotions that may have been otherwise stifled in the members’ various other day jobs.

It finishes satisfyingly strongly with all elements coming together in the fiercest of fashions as Deal’s vocals (and harmonies) gain power in parallel with the added force of the guitar sound all culminating in “Limehouse” as true excitement for life prevails.

If only all first dates could be so special.

Thesaurus moment: ringer.

The Breeders
4AD

No comments: