The Breeders
Last Splash

THE REVIEW

What might the moody, arrogant, creative, and corpulent Black Francis have thought the day he first heard "Cannonball"?
 
Hypothesis 1. (With a sardonic grin, biting his lip) "Cute... but mine are certainly better! It's too easy to inherit the pop soul of the Pixies: the edges, the obliquities, and the genius reside only in my pieces, and with "Teenager of the Year" I will further prove it!

Hypothesis 2. (Wiping the sweat). "How is it possible that I wasn't the one to write such a monstrously perfect pop song, capable of breaking into the charts, collecting the fruits of that "alternative revolution" whose seeds I planted back in the "Surfer Rosa" days: a perfect cross between grunge roughness, velvet mantras, and '60s pop echoes. Why didn't I devise, in my solo album, which sold a third of "Last Splash" despite the advertising campaign and media hype being significantly higher, a breathtaking single with those ingenious interplays of guitar, voice, and bass in independent melodic dynamics?"

Hypothesis 3. (With his feet on the air and his head on the ground). "Well... not bad Kelly... this song is a hit... and I quite like the rest of the album too.   Le Roi, for instance, is really great, with the noise-driven impetus of the good times that sublimates into an almost lysergic progression. And also Invisible Man, No Aloha, Saints, Hag all great moments where our old style is brought to a less complex but decidedly enjoyable level, and even the country-pop touches of Drivin on 9 don't feel out of place. . . it almost seems like the record we should have made after Bossanova. Dissolving the Pixies was inevitable, but...... After all, Joey's stinging guitar was also missing in my album, and good old Dave contributed his part too. Maybe... maybe in a band, ego excesses should always be kept in check. Maybe one day we'll get back together, who knows...".