Despite being the indie buff's band of choice for the best part of two decades, you wouldn't call The Breeders prolific. "Mountain Battles," released this month, will be only the band's fourth album since it formed in Dayton, Ohio, in 1988, and its first since 2002's "Title TK." With a history dogged by lineup changes, side bands, drug addiction and arrest (all well-enough documented to not go into here), it's hardly been plain sailing for The Breeders, fronted by twin sisters Kim and Kelley Deal. But the music has been solid, flirting with the charts despite its fiercely independent bent.
"People go, 'God, what took you so f**king long?' " Kelley tells The Japan Times of the new release. "It's just like, 'God, we're doing the f**king best we can! Jesus!' (laughs) Give us a break." She ponders, adding, "At least on this record. On the other records, have at us."
Asked exactly what did take so long between "Title TK" and "Mountain Battles," Kelley, who joined her sister's band in 1991, replies, "Well, it feels like we worked on it the whole time. We did a demo for 'Regalame Esta Noche' in 2002, and we also did 'Spark' and 'No Way' demos, and those two are actually on the record. And then in 2003, the Pixies stuff happened."