Mountain Battles
Studio album by
the Breeders
ReleasedApril 7, 2008
RecordedElectrical Audio, Chicago;
Stagg Street Studio, Van Nuys;
Manny's Studio, Los Angeles;
Refraze Recording Studio, Dayton;
as well as basement recordings
Genre
Length36:42
Label4AD
The Breeders chronology
Title TK
(2002)		 Mountain Battles
(2008)		 Fate to Fatal (EP)
(2009)
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic75/100[1]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Blender[3]
Entertainment WeeklyC[4]
Mojo[5]
NME8/10[6]
Pitchfork Media7.5/10[7]
Q[8]
Rolling Stone[9]
Spin[10]
Under the Radar5/10[11]

Mountain Battles is the fourth studio album by American band The Breeders. It was released in the United Kingdom on April 7, 2008, and in the United States on April 8, 2008. The album was gradually recorded in a number of different locales including Refraze Recording Studios in Dayton, Ohio, 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.[12] The group's line-up then consisted of Kim Deal, her twin sister Kelley Deal, Richard Presley, Mando Lopez, and Jose Medeles;[13] at the time, the group was based in Los Angeles.[12][14] That year, the Deals began demoing songs for the band's next album,[12][15] including "Regalame Esta Noche" and "No Way".[15] Meanwhile, the group went on tour in the United States and Europe.[16] The Deal sisters continued demoing songs the following year.[12] In 2004, Kim Deal's previous band, Pixies, embarked on a reunion tour,[16][17] and Kelley also traveled with the group.[18] While on the tour, the sisters worked on "Walk It Off"[12][15]—footage of them going through the song is included on the Pixies' loudQuietloud DVD.[18] Around this time, Kim and Kelley moved from Los Angeles back to their hometown of Dayton, Ohio,[14] and continued working on new compositions there,[19] including "Bang On" and "Night of Joy", which came about in the spring of 2007.[15] When developing the songs for Mountain Battles, both sisters collaborated on the arrangements.[18][20] Only Kim, who wrote the lyrics, received songwriting credits,[18] although Kelley was accorded some royalties.[18]

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.[21] These comprised sessions at Electrical Audio in Chicago with Steve Albini, and recording in Los Angeles and Refraze Recording Studios in Dayton Ohio with engineers including Erika Larsen, Manny Nieto, and Ben Mumphrey.[22] By this time, Presley had left the group to sell luxury cars,[21] so the Breeders consisted of the Deal twins, Lopez, and Medeles.[21][22]

Composition

Mountain Battles takes on "primitive" art punk amidst a "raw, sparse" lo-fi sound.[9][23]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Kim Deal, except where noted

No.TitleWriter(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 Cantoral2:52
10."Here No More" 2:39
11."No Way" 2:33
12."It's the Love"The Tasties2:28
13."Mountain Battles" 3:54

The Japanese release contains the following bonus track:[22]

No.TitleLength
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.[22]

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

Charts

Chart (2008) Position
Belgian Album Chart 63[24]
French Album Chart 100[25]
UK Album Chart 46[26]
US Billboard 200 98[27]
US Independent Albums 12[28]

Notes

  1. ↑ Mountain Battles by the Breeders: Critic Reviews (Metacritic)
  2. ↑ Phares
  3. ↑ "The Breeders: Mountain Battles Review". Blender: 77. April 2008.
  4. ↑ Greenblatt, Leah (4 April 2008). "Mountain Battles". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
  5. ↑ "Mountain Battles Review". Mojo: 101. April 2008.
  6. ↑ Elan 2008
  7. ↑ Berman 2008
  8. ↑ "Mountain Battles Review". Q: 126. May 2008.
  9. 1 2 Hermes 2008
  10. ↑ Thomas 2008, p. 104
  11. ↑ "Mountain Battles Review". Under the Radar: 74. Spring 2008.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 Montgomery 2008
  13. ↑ Title TK liner notes
  14. 1 2 Kelley Deal knits up new recording
  15. 1 2 3 4 duBrowa 2008
  16. 1 2 Erlewine
  17. ↑ Pixies to Reunite for Tour - Official!
  18. 1 2 3 4 5 Trucks 2008
  19. ↑ Bugg 2008
  20. ↑ Wethington 2008
  21. 1 2 3 Ganz 2007
  22. 1 2 3 4 Mountain Battles liner notes
  23. ↑ Helen Groom. "BBC - Music - Review of The Breeders - Mountain Battles". BBC. Retrieved November 25, 2021.
  24. ↑ The Breeders: Mountain Battles (Ultratop.be)
  25. ↑ The Breeders: Mountain Battles (Lescharts.com)
  26. ↑ Breeders: Albums
  27. ↑ The Breeders: Top 200
  28. ↑ The Breeders: Independent Albums

References

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