Mountain Battles

Back to the journey through my loosely alphabeticised CD albums this morning, after the end of the B’s I was looking forward to a bit of diversity, prior to the start of the C’s I have a small pile of CD’s at the end of a shelf, and what do you know, the first album was another B, Mountain Battles by The Breeders.
Their most recent album, released in 2008, the fourth album by The Breeders and possibly their most diverse to date.
I think its closest relation is the Breeders debut album, Pod. Although its close in sound, I think possibly due to it being written and recorded in various locations, no two songs are alike in feel, sound or style. It wavers between the standard indie rock sound of The Breeders, before touching on folk, alt country, and also performing songs in German and Spanish. Diverse is definitely the order of the day.
Unfortunately it is on initial hearing the weakest of the Breeders albums, its not as immediate as any of its predecessors and it is the least played of the Breeders, Kim Deal, or Kelley Deals albums. This is a bit of a travesty as it isn’t bad, its good, its very good, but when lined up against a catalogue as strong as Kim and Kelleys, it seems feeble. Listening to it now though it is strong, and it is enjoyable.
Walk it off, first appeared on Pixies documentary, Loudquietloud and its finished version here is a highlight, as is Mountain Battles and We’re Gonna Rise. The tracks that make up the remainder are in themselves worthy of their place on this album, on another Breeders album? I’m not so sure. 7 out of 10.



Walk It Off by The Breeders