Breeders - Glasgow QMU, 29/5/2002

  by Peter Liddle

published: 11 / 6 / 2002

intro

In the second of our two Breeders live reviews this month, Breeders novice Peter Liddle finds the recently reformed Deal twins' to be as much "an essential part of today's scene" as an influential part of the past

To start, let me say that at the time of this concert I knew very little about the Breeders. I assumed I was going to see a nostalgia trip, the glorification of old stars trying to make new, and plugging an album which hoards of long term fans would buy either out of kindness or obsession. The Breeders latest album 'Title TK', their first in nine years is, however, perhaps better than either 'Pod' or 'Last Splash', both their previous two records, and not only that also offers something new, rather than simply replicating the good times of the past. Live it was more of the same. There was a mixture of old and new, young and mature fans there, and almost all of them were going crazy. The good news though is that I joined them. The Breeder's set was fantastic, their guitar music played with the kind of irreverent passion that isn't so much seen as emulated in the bigger bands of today. As well as being an influential band of the past though, the Breeders, however, very much proved themselves to be an essential part of today's scene as well. I thought I'd be staring history (albeit very tuneful history) in the face and seeing the group put some excitement back into their lives by reliving times from almost a decade ago. But no though. The music was new. In fact it was better than new. It was inspirational and vital. Some of the new songs, especially the quiet, scary, intense 'Off You', adopted a refreshingly cynical attitude towards pop sensibilities. Several of the numbers were filled out with an extra layer, sometimes using three guitars, and at one point two drum kits, with frontwoman Kim Deal playing along with the drummer in a most exciting dual drumathon. I am not sure what to make of all this. It sounds like I'm poring praise on a band I hardly understand and that is true. I didn't have to know the history of the Breedersthough to assert their importance as a band. Kim Deal's music, aside from being influential, is still relevant, and quite easily shows up the youth of today.

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