The Breeders - All Nerve 4 stars

Post date: 07-Mar-2018 15:03:51

The Deal sisters have haven’t been away as long as you think, they’ve been either playing or releasing EPs it’s just that they haven’t released an album in ten years which is probably why everyone is hearalding this record as a major comeback.

First off to answer your question, no, it’s not as inventive as ‘Last Splash’ and there’s no ‘Cannonball’ however the alchemy created when Kim and Kelly get together is still there, something about their voices together, so similar but still different sounds like indie heaven.

The songs are quite short, little bursts of jangly, gnarly guitar gems just like you remembered, never outstaying their welcome when it’s time to finish they just, stop. This is the same line up that created ‘Last Splash’ and they’re playing just as well as they did back then if anything the rhythm section is even tighter on this album both driving each other and providing a powerful spine to hang the muscles of the songs from.

‘Archangel’s Thunderbird’ and ‘Nervous Mary’ are the most incendiary songs here but everything feels solid if less experimental than you may expect from this line up and there’s much loveliness too. ‘Spacewoman’ and ‘Dawn: Making an Effort’ both have a shimmering beauty to them while ‘Walking With a Killer’ has some of Kim Deal’s lovelist vocals ever.

Solid comeback, very solid it’s just a shame it’s couldn’t be a little more colourful but as it is it still carries the dark beauty of the Breeders near, if not at the top of their game.