All Nerve
All Nerve is the fifth full-length studio album by American alternative rock band the Breeders, released on March 2, 2018, 10 years after their previous album Mountain Battles (2008). A Stereogum article in June 2016 reported that the band was recording new material at their Ohio studio[2] and in October 2017 they released the first single from the album titled "Wait in the Car".[3] 4AD announced on January 9, 2018, that the new album will be made available on March 2, 2018 and released the album's second single, All Nerve on the same day.[4] The album also marks the band's first in 25 years with their Last Splash lineup. Courtney Barnett guests on one song on the album; "Howl at the Summit".[5]
All Nerve | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | March 2, 2018 | |||
Studio | Candyland, Dayton, Kentucky; Electrical Audio, Chicago; Fernwood Studios, Dayton, Ohio[1] | |||
Genre | Alternative rock | |||
Length | 33:51 | |||
Label | 4AD | |||
The Breeders chronology | ||||
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Singles from All Nerve | ||||
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Background
In 2012 Kim and Kelly Deal decided to commemorate the upcoming 20-year anniversary of the Breeders' 1993 album Last Splash by touring in 2013 with the albums original recording personnel and made contact with Josephine Wiggs and Jim MacPherson. At this time Kim and MacPherson had not spoken since their acrimonious split during their time together in the Amps, however both he and Wiggs were interested and their record label, 4AD decided to release a deluxe 20th anniversary version of the album titled LSXX. The tour began in the US, continued in Europe, Australia, and South America, and included the Deerhunter-curated All Tomorrow's Parties festival.[6] A teaser video was made by the band showing the reunited lineup in rehearsal.[7] Reflecting on these rehearsals Kim said of the experience "It feels really natural, but at the same time there is adjustment. Like when Jim set up his drums and I started playing with him, I had to turn around and crank my amplifier up like two numbers. He's pretty loud." At the conclusion of the LSXX tour the band realized how well they were all getting along and decided to record new music together. During the recording at their Ohio studio Courtney Barnett, who was in town for the Nelsonville Music Festival, recorded some backup vocals for "Howl at the Summit".[8] For the duration of the recording process, Wiggs stayed in Kim Deal's attic at her Dayton, Ohio home to avoid having to drive the 10 hour journey to New York.[9][10]
Reception
Aggregate scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AnyDecentMusic? | 7.8/10[11] |
Metacritic | 84/100[12] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | |
The A.V. Club | B+[14] |
The Guardian | |
The Independent | |
Mojo | |
Pitchfork | 7.1/10[18] |
Q | |
Record Collector | |
Rolling Stone | |
Uncut | 9/10[22] |
All Nerve was released to universal acclaim, scoring 84 on aggregate website Metacritic, based on 31 reviews.[12] AllMusic reviewer Heather Phares praised the album as "one of the band's finest blends of sugar and swagger, space and noise."[13] Record Collector's Alun Hamnett praised Kim Deal's decision to leave the Pixies in 2013 to focus exclusively on the Breeders, stating, "They took their sweet time, but that Breeders line-up is back, and has just nonchalantly knocked it out of the park."[20] The Guardian's Alexis Petridis said the album "blends ancient monuments and crushed beetles into a spectral brew".[15] In a slightly more negative review, Julian Marszalek of The Quietus criticized the latter half of the album, writing that "the album goes through a variety of fits and starts before descending into anticlimax. 'Skinhead #2' and 'Blues at the Acropolis' are inconclusive filler, which on an album that lasts a little over 30 minutes, just isn’t good enough."[23]
Mojo ranked the album #10 on their list of "Top 75 Albums of 2018" in their end-of-the-year November 2018 issue.[24]
Track listing
All tracks are written by Kim Deal, except where noted.
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Nervous Mary" | 2:29 | |
2. | "Wait in the Car" | Kim Deal, Richard Presley | 2:04 |
3. | "All Nerve" | 2:11 | |
4. | "MetaGoth" | Kim Deal, Josephine Wiggs | 3:08 |
5. | "Spacewoman" | Kim Deal, Morgan Nagler | 4:21 |
6. | "Walking with a Killer" | 3:45 | |
7. | "Howl at the Summit" | 2:57 | |
8. | "Archangel's Thunderbird" (Amon Duul II cover) | Falk Ulrich Rogner, John Weinzierl | 3:25 |
9. | "Dawn: Making an Effort" | 3:50 | |
10. | "Skinhead #2" | Kim Deal, Josephine Wiggs | 2:45 |
11. | "Blues at the Acropolis" | 2:56 [25] |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
12. | "Joanne" (Mike Nesmith cover) | Mike Nesmith | 3:13 |
13. | "Gates of Steel" (Devo cover) | G. Casale, M. Mothersbaugh, Sue Schmidt, Debbie Smith | 3:27 |
Personnel
The Breeders
- Kim Deal – lead vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards
- Kelley Deal – guitar, vocals
- Jim MacPherson – drums
- Josephine Wiggs – bass, guitar, vocals
Additional personnel
- Courtney Barnett, Bones Sloane, Dave Mudie, Dylan Ranson-Hughes – backing vocals ("Howl at the Summit")
- Kyle Rector – Farfisa organ ("Dawn: Making an Effort")
Technical personnel
- Steve Albini – engineering, mixing
- Mike Montgomery, Greg Norman, Tom Rastikis – engineering
- Matt Boynton – mixing
- Eric Gorman – mixing assistance
- Greg Calbi, Bob Weston – mastering
- Martin Andersen – photography
- Chris Bigg – design[27]
Charts
Chart (2018) | Peak position |
---|---|
Australian Albums (ARIA)[28] | 44 |
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[29] | 48 |
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[30] | 28 |
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[31] | 70 |
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[32] | 79 |
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[33] | 83 |
Irish Albums (IRMA)[34] | 49 |
New Zealand Heatseeker Albums (RMNZ)[35] | 5 |
Portuguese Albums (AFP)[36] | 17 |
Scottish Albums (OCC)[37] | 6 |
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[38] | 74 |
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[39] | 60 |
UK Albums (OCC)[40] | 9 |
US Billboard 200[41] | 79 |
Accolades
Publication | Accolade | Rank | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|
Mojo Magazine | Top 75 Albums of 2018 | 10 |
|
Fopp | Top 100 Albums of 2018 | 12 |
|
Vulture.com | Top 15 Albums of 2018 | 15 |
|
Uncut Magazine | Top 75 Albums of 2018 | 18 |
|
MusicOMH | Top 50 Album of 2018 | 44 |
References
- "The official website for independent record label 4AD". 4AD. Retrieved December 26, 2019.
- "Courtney Barnett Will Appear On New Breeders Album". Stereogum. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
- "Hear the Breeders' New Razor-Edged Rock Song 'Wait In the Car'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
- Manno, Lizzie. "The Breeders Unveil All Nerve, Their First New Album in 10 Years". Paste.com. Paste Magazine. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
- "The Breeders official site". The Breeders.
- "The Breeders to Play Last Splash at Deerhunter-Curated ATP, 20th Anniversary Reissue Out Next Year". Pitchfork. December 7, 2012. Retrieved March 30, 2018.
- "The Breeders – New Year XX". BreedersVideos (official channel).
- "Courtney Barnett Will Appear On New Breeders Album". Stereogum. Retrieved March 30, 2018.
- "The Breeders on Reassembling Its Coveted Lineup For Reunion Album 'All Nerve'". Billboard. Retrieved March 23, 2018.
- "The Breeders' Kim Deal on Their New Album 'All Nerve' on Bullseye". Bullseye. Retrieved March 23, 2018.
- "All Nerve by The Breeders reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved September 2, 2019.
- "All Nerve by The Breeders Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved September 2, 2019.
- Phares, Heather. "All Nerve – The Breeders". AllMusic. Retrieved March 3, 2018.
- Waite, Kelsey J. (March 2, 2018). "The Breeders, All Nerve". The A.V. Club. Retrieved March 7, 2018.
- Petridis, Alexis (March 1, 2018). "The Breeders: All Nerve review – reunited rockers get dark and deep". The Guardian. Retrieved July 4, 2018.
- Kaplan, Ilana (March 1, 2018). "Album reviews: Moby, The Breeders, Soccer Mommy and Camp Cope". The Independent. Retrieved September 2, 2019.
- Segal, Victoria (April 2018). "Neuron bomb". Mojo (293): 88.
- Johnston, Maura (March 2, 2018). "The Breeders: All Nerve". Pitchfork. Retrieved September 2, 2019.
- Barton, Laura (April 2018). "The Real Deal". Q (383): 110.
- Hamnett, Alun (March 2018). "The Breeders – All Nerve". Record Collector (477). Retrieved March 3, 2018.
- Aaron, Charles (March 2, 2018). "Review: The Breeders Return to Dynamic Drama of Nineties Heyday on 'All Nerve'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved March 31, 2018.
- Pinnock, Tom (April 2018). "The Breeders: All Nerve". Uncut (251): 24.
- "All Nerve, The Breeders". The Quietus. Retrieved March 7, 2018.
- "MOJO's Top 75 Albums of 2018". BrooklynVegan. Retrieved December 26, 2019.
- Rettig, James. "The Breeders – "All Nerve"". Stereogum. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
- "The Breeders – All Nerve". Discogs.
- "All Nerve credits". AllMusic. Retrieved March 3, 2018.
- "ARIA Australian Top 50 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association. March 12, 2018. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
- "Austriancharts.at – The Breeders – All Nerve" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
- "Ultratop.be – The Breeders – All Nerve" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
- "Ultratop.be – The Breeders – All Nerve" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
- "Dutchcharts.nl – The Breeders – All Nerve" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
- "Offiziellecharts.de – The Breeders – All Nerve" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved March 9, 2018.
- "Irish-charts.com – Discography The Breeders". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
- "NZ Heatseeker Albums Chart". Recorded Music NZ. March 12, 2018. Retrieved March 9, 2018.
- "Portuguesecharts.com – The Breeders – All Nerve". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 23, 2018.
- "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
- "Top 100 Albumes – Semana 10: del 2.3.2018 al 8.3.2018" (in Spanish). Productores de Música de España. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
- "Swisscharts.com – The Breeders – All Nerve". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 14, 2018.
- "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
- "The Breeders Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved March 13, 2018.
- "Mojo Magazine's Best Albums of 2018". Albumoftheyear.org. Retrieved December 16, 2018.
- "Fopp's Best Albums of 2018". Fopp.com. Retrieved December 16, 2018.
- Jenkins, Craig (December 3, 2018). "The 15 Best Albums of 2018 Featuring major comebacks, existential rap, sci-fi song cycles, and more". Vulture.com. Retrieved December 16, 2018.
- "Uncut Magazine's 75 Best Albums of 2018". Albumofthyear.org. Retrieved December 16, 2018.
- Hubbard, Michael (December 5, 2018). "MusicOMH's Top 50 Albums of 2018". Retrieved December 16, 2018.