Mountain Battles
Mountain Battles | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by The Breeders | ||||
Released |
7 April 2008 (UK) 8 April 2008 (US) | |||
Recorded |
Electrical Audio, Chicago; Stagg Street Studio, Van Nuys; Manny's Studio, Los Angeles; Refraze Recording Studio, Dayton; as well as basement recordings | |||
Genre | Alternative pop-rock[1] | |||
Length | 36:42 | |||
Label | 4AD | |||
The Breeders chronology | ||||
|
Professional ratings | |
---|---|
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [1] |
BBC | (favorable)[2] |
NME | (8/10)[3] |
Pitchfork Media | (7.5/10)[4] |
Rolling Stone | (3.5/5)[5] |
Spin | (4/5)[6] |
The Stranger | [7] |
Uncut | (favorable)[8] |
Mountain Battles is the fourth studio album by the American band The Breeders, released in April 2008. The album was gradually recorded in a number of different locales by engineers including Steve Albini, Erika Larson, Manny Nieto and Ben Mumphrey.
Song development and recording
The Breeders released their previous album, Title TK, in 2002.[9] The group's line-up currently consisted of Kim Deal, her twin sister Kelley Deal, Richard Presley, Mando Lopez, and Jose Medeles;[10] at the time, the group was based in Los Angeles.[9][11] That year, the Deals began demoing songs for the band's next album,[9][12] including "Regalame Esta Noche" and "No Way".[12] Meanwhile, the group went on tour in the United States and Europe.[13] The Deal sisters continued demoing songs the following year.[9] In 2004, Kim Deal's previous band, Pixies, embarked on a reunion tour,[13][14] and Kelley also traveled with the group.[15] While on the tour, the sisters worked on "Walk It Off"[9][12]—footage of them going through the song is included on the Pixies' loudQuietloud DVD.[15] Around this time, Kim and Kelley moved from Los Angeles back to their hometown of Dayton, Ohio,[11] and continued working on new compositions there,[16] including "Bang On" and "Night of Joy", which came about in the spring of 2007.[12] When developing the songs for Mountain Battles, both sisters collaborated on the arrangements.[15][17] Only Kim, who wrote the lyrics, received songwriting credits,[15] although Kelley was accorded some royalties.[15]
During the period of 2002 to 2007—concurrently with the Deals' writing and demoing—the Breeders attended sessions with a number of engineers to record the album.[18] These comprised sessions at Electrical Audio in Chicago with Steve Albini, and recording in Los Angeles and Dayton locations with engineers including Erika Larsen, Manny Nieto, and Ben Mumphrey.[19] By this time, Presley had left the group to sell luxury cars,[18] so the Breeders consisted of the Deal twins, Lopez, and Medeles.[18][19]
Track listing
All tracks written by Kim Deal, except where noted.
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Overglazed" | 2:15 | |
2. | "Bang On" | 2:03 | |
3. | "Night of Joy" | 3:26 | |
4. | "We're Gonna Rise" | 3:53 | |
5. | "German Studies" | 2:16 | |
6. | "Spark" | 2:39 | |
7. | "Istanbul" | 2:58 | |
8. | "Walk It Off" | 2:46 | |
9. | "Regalame Esta Noche" | Roberto Cantoral | 2:52 |
10. | "Here No More" | 2:39 | |
11. | "No Way" | 2:33 | |
12. | "It's the Love" | The Tasties | 2:28 |
13. | "Mountain Battles" | 3:54 |
The Japanese release contains the following bonus track:[19]
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
14. | "German Demonstration" | 1:36 |
Personnel
The Mountain Battles liner notes list the following personnel who helped make the album; the liner notes do not mention which instruments the Deal sisters, Lopez, and Medeles played.[19]
Musicians
- Kim Deal
- Kelley Deal
- Mando Lopez
- Jose Medeles
- Steven Medina Hüfsteter – guitar on "Regalame Esta Noche"
- Heather Winna – marching cymbals on "Walk It Off"
- Todd Mund – background vocals on "German Studies"
Engineering and mastering
- Steve Albini – engineering
- Erika Larsen – engineering
- Manny Nieto – engineering, mastering
- Ben Mumphrey – engineering
- Steve Rook – mastering
Art design
- Vaughan Oliver – art design
- Marc Atkins – photography
Charts
Chart (2008) | Position |
---|---|
Belgian Album Chart | 63[20] |
French Album Chart | 100[21] |
UK Album Chart | 46[22] |
US Billboard 200 | 98[23] |
Notes
- 1 2 Phares
- ↑ Groom 2008
- ↑ Elan 2008
- ↑ Berman 2008
- ↑ Hermes 2008
- ↑ Thomas 2008, p. 104
- ↑ Mizell 2008
- ↑ Mulvey 2008
- 1 2 3 4 5 Montgomery 2008
- ↑ Title TK liner notes
- 1 2 Kelley Deal knits up new recording
- 1 2 3 4 duBrowa 2008
- 1 2 Erlewine
- ↑ Pixies to Reunite for Tour - Official!
- 1 2 3 4 5 Trucks 2008
- ↑ Bugg 2008
- ↑ Wethington 2008
- 1 2 3 Ganz 2007
- 1 2 3 4 Mountain Battles liner notes
- ↑ The Breeders: Mountain Battles (Ultratop.be)
- ↑ The Breeders: Mountain Battles (Lescharts.com)
- ↑ Breeders: Albums
- ↑ The Breeders: Chart History
References
- Berman, Stuart (2008-04-09). "The Breeders: Mountain Battles". Pitchfork Media. Archived from the original on 2010-12-17. Retrieved 2014-01-05.
- "Breeders: Albums". Theofficialcharts.com. Retrieved 2015-02-26.
- "The Breeders: Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved 2015-02-26.
- "The Breeders: Mountain Battles" (in French). Lescharts.com. Retrieved 2015-02-26.
- "The Breeders: Mountain Battles" (in Dutch). Ultratop.be. Retrieved 2015-02-26.
- duBrowa, Corey (2008-04-07). "Q&A with the Breeders". Magnet. Retrieved 2015-05-07.
- Bugg, Jason (2008-06-11). "No mountain high enough". Mountain Xpress. Retrieved 2015-05-07.
- Elan, Priya (2008-04-11). "The Breeders: Mountain Battles". NME. Retrieved 2014-01-05.
- Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "The Breeders Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 2015-05-08.
- Gadette, Jamie (2008-05-21). "Rise Again: The Breeders return to basics with Mountain Battles". Salt Lake City Weekly. Retrieved 2015-05-07.
- Ganz, Carol (2007-12-04). "Breeders' Long-Awaited "Mountain Battles" Due April '08". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2009-05-05. Retrieved 2015-05-07.
- Groom, Helen. "The Breeders: Mountain Battles Review". BBC. Retrieved 2014-01-06.
- Hermes, Will (2008-04-17). "The Breeders: Mountain Battles". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2008-04-19. Retrieved 2014-01-05.
- "Kelley Deal knits up new recording". The San Francisco Examiner. 2008-04-30. Retrieved 2015-05-07.
- Mizell, Larry Jr. (2008-04-03). "Album Reviews". The Stranger. Retrieved 2015-02-26.
- Montgomery, James (2008-03-31). "Breeders' Deal Sisters Head Back Up The Mountain … And Reveal Similarities With Britney Spears". MTV. Retrieved 2015-05-07.
- Mountain Battles (CD booklet). The Breeders. Japan: 4AD. 2008.
- Mulvey, John (2008-01-24). "The Breeders: "Mountain Battles"". Uncut. Retrieved 2015-03-01.
- Phares, Heather. "Mountain Battles Review". AllMusic. Retrieved 2014-01-05.
- "Pixies to Reunite for Tour - Official!". NME. 2004-02-03. Retrieved 2015-05-08.
- Thomas, Lindsey (2008-04-01). "Strange but True: Inside Kim Deal's eerily inscrutable rock dreams". Spin. Retrieved 2014-01-05.
- Title TK (CD booklet). The Breeders. Japan: P-Vine Records. 2002.
- Trucks, Rob (2008-05-01). "The Deal sisters bring back the Breeders with Mountain Battles". Phoenix New Times. Retrieved 2015-05-07.
- Wethington, Kari (2008-04-01). "The SPIN Interview: Kim Deal". Spin. Retrieved 2015-05-07.