Day After Day #11: Saints

Day After Day is an ambitious attempt to write about a song every day in 2024 (starting on Jan. 4).

Saints 

Some people were just born cool. Kim Deal is one of those people. Who goes from being an integral part of the Pixies to leading the Breeders? Amazing. It's no secret Black Francis ran a tight ship with the Pixies (hell, he informed the other members the band was over via fax), so Deal no doubt was looking for another outlet. She teamed up with Tanya Donelly of the Throwing Muses to make a demo tape; Deal described their sound as "the Bangles from hell." 

The first Breeders album, Pod, came out in 1990. It wasn't a big commercial success but it got good critical notice. Deal went back to the Pixies until that band split up and then devoted herself to the Breeders. Donelly was forming her new band Belly, so Deal recruited her twin sister Kelley. 

In August 1993, Last Splash was released, with lead single "Cannonball" finding immediate success thanks to its catchy hooks and Spike Jonze-directed video. The song made it to #44 on the Billboard Hot 100 and set the Breeders up for success. They became alternative darlings and ended up opening for Nirvana on the In Utero tour; I saw that bill play at the Springfield Civic Center in November '93.

The third single off Last Splash was "Saints." After "Cannonball" and the second single "Divine Hammer," "Saints" didn't quite catch on the same way. It got a little radio airplay but I don't recall ever seeing the video on MTV; I'm sure it showed up on 120 Minutes but I never saw it. That said, it's a great song. Crunchy riffs, surf guitar line, short and sweet. Kim singing about seeing Sooey and saints at the fair, noting that "summer is ready when you are."

The Breeders made alt-rock look effortless, packing tons of smarts and musicality into their music. Sadly, they weren't able to capitalize on their early success. After the Last Splash tour, the band went its separate ways. Kim formed the Amps, released an album and toured; the other band members (Kelley, bassist Josephine Wiggs and drummer Jim MacPherson) all had various projects going on. In 2001, the Deal sisters recruited new members and reformed the Breeders, releasing Title TK in 2002 and Mountain Battles in 2008. In between, Kim reunited with the Pixies and toured on an off for several years before leaving for good in 2013.

The Last Splash lineup reunited in 2012 and toured behind the 20th anniversary reissue of the album. In 2018, they released an excellent new album, All Nerve, and toured again: I caught them at the Sinclair for that one.

All this is to say: Kim Deal is still cooler than pretty much everyone.