4 Classic Songs by The Breeders Not Called “Cannonball”

Kim Deal and Tanya Donelly formed The Breeders in 1989 as side projects to their bands Pixies and Throwing Muses.

Casual fans recognize “Cannonball,” the hit single from The Breeders’ second album Last Splash (1993). The one that made them alt-rock heroes. But the group’s Steve Albini-recorded debut Pod, as well as their EP Safari—the only recording to feature both Kelley Deal and Tanya Donelly—are equally classic.

After fights, drugs, a hiatus, and changing lineups, The Breeders’ iconic Last Splash lineup—with bassist Josephine Wiggs and drummer Jim Macpherson—reunited on their 2018 album All Nerve featuring the explosive “Wait in the Car.”

The Dandy Warhols once wrote a song called “Cool as Kim Deal.” Listen to four Breeders’ gems below to find out why.

“Doe” from Pod (1990)

The Breeders’ debut arrived under the giant shadow of the Pixies. But Pod previewed alternative rock’s coming cultural dominance and how much Kim Deal’s “side project” helped shape that dominance. Kurt Cobain called Pod one of his favorite albums.

While the Pixies and Throwing Muses toured Europe together, Kim Deal and Tanya Donelly began scheming a new band. They started writing dance music but later abandoned the idea. When Pixies’ frontman Black Francis announced a solo tour, it created a vacuum for Kim to fill with her tender and muscular voice.

There’s something sublime about “Doe,” and you can almost hear future-hit “Divine Hammer” forming within the song. Meanwhile, Steve Albini captured The Breeders in raw form, eschewing production for spontaneity. Pod also features a grunge cover of The Beatles’ “Happiness Is a Warm Gun.”

“No Aloha” from Last Splash (1993)

The Deal twins formed a folk duo in Dayton, Ohio as teenagers. But the world would have to wait for their group. Kim married and moved to Boston, later joining the Pixies.

Kelley reunited with her sister after Tanya Donelly quit The Breeders. (Donelly left to focus on her new band Belly.) By the time Last Splash arrived, Black Francis had already ended the Pixies via fax. The album’s fourth single “No Aloha” transforms a woozy Hawaiian surf theme into the kind of quiet/loud jam Kim’s former band might have played.

“Divine Hammer” from Last Splash (1993)

In 1993, Kim explained the meaning behind “Divine Hammer” to Richard Kingsmill, a host on Australian radio station Triple J. “It’s about existential angst, really. I’m just looking for some divinity [to] come down and, you know what, I don’t think there is anything. I think I can find my divinity in different ways.”

The songs on Last Splash are sunny and short. “Divine Hammer” neatly distills Kim’s indie pop songwriting into a salty-sweet two minutes and forty-one seconds. Also, don’t miss the version featuring Dinosaur Jr.’s J Mascis called “Divine Mascis” from the 30th-anniversary edition of Last Splash.

“Drivin’ on 9” from Last Splash (1993)

The Breeders covered “Drivin’ on 9,” a song by the Boston folk group Ed’s Redeeming Qualities. Kim met the band as the Pixies were gaining popularity. She’d later recruit Carrie Bradley from Ed’s Redeeming Qualities to play violin with The Breeders. Kim described Ed’s Redeeming Qualities as “the Pogues but with more teeth.”

The “amateur” quality of the group remained part of The Breeders’ aesthetic. The version that appears on Last Splash is more vivid than the lo-fi original with Kim’s childlike voice turning the slacker folk tune into an alt-fairy tale.

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