All Nerve

All Nerve
Studio album by
the Breeders
ReleasedMarch 2, 2018
StudioCandyland Recording Studio, Dayton, Kentucky; Electrical Audio, Chicago; Fernwood Studios, Dayton, Ohio[1]
GenreAlternative rock
Length33:51
Label4AD
The Breeders chronology
Fate to Fatal
(2009) 		All Nerve
(2018)
Singles from All Nerve
  1. "Wait in the Car"
    Released: October 3, 2017
  2. "All Nerve"
    Released: January 9, 2018

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 would 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]

Background

[edit]
"Wait in the Car"
The album's lead single "Wait in the Car" was favorably compared by some critics to their Last Splash single "Cannonball"
Problems playing this file? See media help.
The Breeders performing in Paris, France in 2017.

In 2012 Kim and Kelley 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. While recording at Candyland Recording Studio in Dayton, KY with engineer Mike Montgomery, 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

[edit]
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.8/10[11]
Metacritic84/100[12]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[13]
The A.V. ClubB+[14]
The Guardian[15]
The Independent[16]
Mojo[17]
Pitchfork7.1/10[18]
Q[19]
Record Collector[20]
Rolling Stone[21]
Uncut9/10[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 number 10 on their list of "Top 75 Albums of 2018" in their end-of-the-year November 2018 issue.[24]

Track listing

[edit]

All tracks are written by Kim Deal, except where noted

No.TitleWriter(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"
3:08
5."Spacewoman"
4:21
6."Walking with a Killer" 3:45
7."Howl at the Summit" 2:57
8."Archangel's Thunderbird" (Amon Düül II cover)
  • Falk Ulrich Rogner
  • John Weinzierl
3:25
9."Dawn: Making an Effort" 3:50
10."Skinhead #2"
  • Deal
  • Wiggs
2:45
11."Blues at the Acropolis" 2:56 [25]
Japanese edition bonus tracks[26][better source needed]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
12."Joanne" (Mike Nesmith cover)Mike Nesmith3:13
13."Gates of Steel" (Devo cover)G. Casale, M. Mothersbaugh, Sue Schmidt, Debbie Smith3:27

Personnel

[edit]

The Breeders

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

[edit]
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
French Albums (SNEP)[33] 98
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[34] 83
Irish Albums (OCC)[35] 49
New Zealand Heatseeker Albums (RMNZ)[36] 5
Portuguese Albums (AFP)[37] 17
Scottish Albums (OCC)[38] 6
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[39] 74
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[40] 60
UK Albums (OCC)[41] 9
US Billboard 200[42] 79

Accolades

[edit]
Publication Accolade Rank Ref.
Fopp Top 100 Albums of 2018
12
[43]
Mojo Top 75 Albums of 2018
10
[44]
MusicOMH Top 50 Album of 2018
44
[45]
Uncut Top 75 Albums of 2018
18
[46]
Vulture.com Top 15 Albums of 2018
15
[47]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "The official website for independent record label 4AD". 4AD. Retrieved December 26, 2019.
  2. ^ "Courtney Barnett Will Appear On New Breeders Album". Stereogum. 3 June 2016. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
  3. ^ "Hear the Breeders' New Razor-Edged Rock Song 'Wait In the Car'". Rolling Stone. 3 October 2017. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
  4. ^ Manno, Lizzie. "The Breeders Unveil All Nerve, Their First New Album in 10 Years". Paste. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
  5. ^ "The Breeders official site". The Breeders.
  6. ^ "The Breeders to Play Last Splash at Deerhunter-Curated ATP, 20th Anniversary Reissue Out Next Year". Pitchfork. December 7, 2012. Retrieved March 30, 2018.
  7. ^ "The Breeders – New Year XX". BreedersVideos (official channel).
  8. ^ "Courtney Barnett Will Appear On New Breeders Album". Stereogum. 3 June 2016. Retrieved March 30, 2018.
  9. ^ "The Breeders on Reassembling Its Coveted Lineup For Reunion Album 'All Nerve'". Billboard. Retrieved March 23, 2018.
  10. ^ "The Breeders' Kim Deal on Their New Album 'All Nerve' on Bullseye". Bullseye. Retrieved March 23, 2018.
  11. ^ "All Nerve by The Breeders reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved September 2, 2019.
  12. ^ a b "All Nerve by The Breeders Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved September 2, 2019.
  13. ^ a b Phares, Heather. "All Nerve – The Breeders". AllMusic. Retrieved March 3, 2018.
  14. ^ Waite, Kelsey J. (March 2, 2018). "The Breeders, All Nerve". The A.V. Club. Retrieved March 7, 2018.
  15. ^ a b Petridis, Alexis (March 1, 2018). "The Breeders: All Nerve review – reunited rockers get dark and deep". The Guardian. Retrieved July 4, 2018.
  16. ^ Kaplan, Ilana (March 1, 2018). "Album reviews: Moby, The Breeders, Soccer Mommy and Camp Cope". The Independent. Archived from the original on 2018-03-02. Retrieved September 2, 2019.
  17. ^ Segal, Victoria (April 2018). "Neuron bomb". Mojo (293): 88.
  18. ^ Johnston, Maura (March 2, 2018). "The Breeders: All Nerve". Pitchfork. Retrieved September 2, 2019.
  19. ^ Barton, Laura (April 2018). "The Real Deal". Q (383): 110.
  20. ^ a b Hamnett, Alun (March 2018). "The Breeders – All Nerve". Record Collector (477). Retrieved March 3, 2018.
  21. ^ Aaron, Charles (March 2, 2018). "Review: The Breeders Return to Dynamic Drama of Nineties Heyday on 'All Nerve'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved March 31, 2018.
  22. ^ Pinnock, Tom (April 2018). "The Breeders: All Nerve". Uncut (251): 24.
  23. ^ "All Nerve, The Breeders". The Quietus. 2 March 2018. Retrieved March 7, 2018.
  24. ^ "MOJO's Top 75 Albums of 2018". BrooklynVegan. Retrieved December 26, 2019.
  25. ^ Rettig, James (9 January 2018). "The Breeders – "All Nerve"". Stereogum. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
  26. ^ "The Breeders – All Nerve". Discogs.
  27. ^ "All Nerve credits". AllMusic. Retrieved March 3, 2018.
  28. ^ "Australiancharts.com – The Breeders – All Nerve". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
  29. ^ "Austriancharts.at – The Breeders – All Nerve" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
  30. ^ "Ultratop.be – The Breeders – All Nerve" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
  31. ^ "Ultratop.be – The Breeders – All Nerve" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
  32. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – The Breeders – All Nerve" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
  33. ^ "Lescharts.com – The Breeders – All Nerve". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
  34. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – The Breeders – All Nerve" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved March 9, 2018.
  35. ^ "Official Irish Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 8, 2022.
  36. ^ "NZ Heatseeker Albums Chart". Recorded Music NZ. March 12, 2018. Retrieved March 9, 2018.
  37. ^ "Portuguesecharts.com – The Breeders – All Nerve". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 23, 2018.
  38. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
  39. ^ "Spanishcharts.com – The Breeders – All Nerve". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
  40. ^ "Swisscharts.com – The Breeders – All Nerve". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 14, 2018.
  41. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
  42. ^ "The Breeders Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved March 13, 2018.
  43. ^ "Fopp's Best Albums of 2018". Fopp.com. 22 November 2018. Retrieved December 16, 2018.
  44. ^ Andrew Sacher (November 19, 2018). "MOJO's Top 75 Albums of 2018". BrooklynVegan.
  45. ^ Hubbard, Michael (December 5, 2018). "MusicOMH's Top 50 Albums of 2018". MusicOMH. Retrieved December 16, 2018.
  46. ^ "Uncut Magazine's 75 Best Albums of 2018". Albumofthyear.org. Retrieved December 16, 2018.
  47. ^ 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.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=All_Nerve&oldid=1252977762"