Mountain Battles in Bloomington, MN

It only took
the Breeders
a little under six years to deliver the follow-up to
Title TK
, which is progress, considering that it was nearly a decade between that album and
Last Splash
, and especially since
Kim Deal
was occupied with
the Pixies
reunion for a couple of those years.
Mountain Battles
sounds like progress, too: while all
Breeders
albums have, in varying proportions, a mix of whip-smart
pop
songs, droning rockers, and experimental tangents, the blend of these sounds hasn't sounded this satisfying since the
Pod
days.
Deal
and crew aren't making a big
push a la
, and they don't sound as defiant as they did on
-- but, as on that album,
feels like the band are doing exactly what they want and not worrying too much about what anyone else thinks about it.
"It's the Love,"
the song most like
' quintessential sweet-but-tart
punk-pop
, is actually a cover of fellow Dayton band
the Tasties
, and
Kim
's delivery is so cheeky that it almost feels like she's affectionately sending up that sound.
"It's the Love"
is placed next to the album's oddest song, which happens to be the title track and finale: full of murky keyboards and a melody that plays hide-and-seek,
"Mountain Battles"
sounds unfinished and unsettling. Yet there are a lot of other sounds between those extremes, including
"Bang On"
's distorted drums and witty guitars, which prove that
is still as skilled at
collages as she was during
"Cannonball"
's heyday;
"German Studies"
and
"Walk it Off"
should also please
fans craving more of
's sassy
. However, the flirty, slow-dance cover of
"Regalame Esta Noche,"
which shows off the pure beauty of her voice; the percussive, call-and-response jam
"Istanbul,"
"Here No More,"
a
country
number so simple and effortless it feels like it could be a cover, make
eclectic and even a bit daring.
's willingness to let the album's songs take their own paths is even more daring; from
"Overglazed"
's impressionistic
rock
, which opens
with stampeding drums and cascading vocals, to the wandering, surf-tinged ballad
"Night of Joy,"
many tracks feel open-ended and sometimes downright elusive. But, even if
"Spark"
remains little more than a moody sketch and
"We're Gonna Rise"
moves as slowly as dust turning in a sunbeam, they add to
' ebb and flow, with each song playing off the other naturally. And, though the album covers a lot of territory -- 13 songs in 36 minutes! -- it doesn't feel scattered; scattered implies no purpose, but
' songs land, eventually, exactly where they need to. ~ Heather Phares