This past Wednesday, August 30th, was the official Pearl Anniversary of The Breeders’ Last Splash, the sophomore LP from the alternative rock legends, featuring ‘90s classics like “Saints,” “No Aloha,” and “Cannonball,” the ineffably anthemic track inspired (at least in part) by the Marquis de Sade, whose Kim-Gordon-and-Spike-Jonze-directed music video put the Deal twins in the eyes and ears of just about every disenfranchised suburban youth whose parents allowed them to watch MTV… and likely many whose didn’t…
This June, The Breeders announced Last Splash (30th Anniversary Original Analog Edition), which drops September 22nd, via 4AD (who originally released the album in 1993). The recording is remastered from the thought-to-be-lost original analog tapes, and includes two unreleased tracks, “Divine Mascis,” a version of “Divine Hammer” featuring Dinosaur Jr.’s J Mascis providing lead vocals, and “Go Man Go,” a track that Kim Deal co-wrote with Black Francis, whose music video premiered with the announcement of the rerelease. This special edition is presented on two 12” 45rpm single discs, along with a one-sided etched 12”, containing the two aforementioned songs, recorded during the original album sessions. The artwork has Chris Bigg reimagining the original sleeve art by the late Vaughan Oliver, Bigg’s longtime design partner.
Accompanying the announcement of the album’s rerelease was nearly two months’ worth of live dates, featuring appearances at a number of major festivals (Wildlands Festival, Ghost Ranch Music Festival, Riot Fest, Sea.Hear.Now. Festival, and Austin City Limits Music Festival), five dates supporting Foo Fighters in arenas and amphitheaters, and a slew of headlining gigs, including a Wednesday, September 20th stop at The Fillmore Philadelphia, The Breeders’ first time in the City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection since their 2017 show at Union Transfer. And while many of these dates were immediate sell-outs, there are still tickets remaining for the 2,500-capacity Fishtown Fillmore.
These dates – featuring the iconic Last Splash lineup of Kim Deal, Kelley Deal, Josephine Wiggs, and Jim Macpherson – aren’t “legendary albums” shows, but boast a sampling from The Breeders’ four-decade-spanning career. Headlining sets have included more than twenty songs, featuring more than half of the 15 songs of Last Splash (in addition to the recently unearthed “Go Man Go”); a handful of numbers from 1990 Steve Albini-produced debut, Pod, which features Throwing Muse (and Belly frontperson) Tanya Donelly (with whom Kim originally started the band), and which Kurt Cobain noted as one of his favorite albums of all-time; a slightly smaller handful from 2018’s All Nerve; and even one or two entries from 1992 EP Safari and brilliant “reunion” LP Title TK, from 2002.
*Get your tickets here.
