Customer Reviews

Last Splash [Vinyl]

5 star:		(41)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Okay, I admit it...I found this record on tape about 5 months ago at a record shop in L.A. It was 99 cents! I hadn't listened to the songs on this album, with the exception of "Cannonball" and "Divine Hammer" which were furiously played on KROQ, since the record came out in 1993. Big, big mistake. The songs on this record take you by the hand and make you feel like you are falling in love with someone, EVERYONE! "Invisible Man"...oh my god...any song with Kim's voice that uses the words "sweet caress...." I mean, come on! It is not unlike an aural aphrodisiac! The opening of "No Aloha" makes me crazy every time I hear it. The guitar slithers and slides it 's way into your brain so that it's all you can think about the entire day. Rarely does an album make you feel PHYSICALLY better....but if ever there was a record this is it! I have had to rewind the tape over and over again to just to hear the beginning of the song and since I feel I have gotten my initial 99 cents worth of rock, I am springing for the CD today! Musical masturbation for the obsessive -compulsive -manic -depressive -low self esteem having -yet somehow "cuter" when they listen to this record kinda vibe! Kim--you rule!

The Breeders have a unique style of music in my opinion, and this album LAST SPLASH is undoubtably one of my favorites, if not my favorite alternative album of the 90's. It's perfect, its infectuous and endearing, it's everything an album should be, and what I wish music was more like today. Most people know of the single "Cannonball", which has been used in many car commercials as a jingle, its a rare blend of spirited vocals and guitar riffs which make you want to rock out! "No Aloha" has a flair to it as well, with a unique guitar riff which gives the song a hawaiian type feel to it. "Saints" is a fun summer song, as the song says "Summer is ready when you are". The vocals of Kim truly bring the album to life with the excellent instrumentation of the band. Other right away highlights and songs to keep an ear out for are "Invisible Man", "Roi", "I Just Wanna Get Along", "Divine Hammer" and "Drivin On", but overall this is a truly great album that everyone should give a listen to!

The Breeders came onto the alternative rock scene back in 1993 with their inexplicably retro-sounding hit "Cannonball," yet seemed to fall into obscurity not too long afterwards. The band can, more or less, be referred to as a spin-off of The Pixies (lead singer and guitarist Kim Deal was a former member of aforementioned band), and on this 1993 outing, there seems to be more to the album than meets the eyes and ears.

In some ways, it would seem painfully fitting (or more specifically, understandable) that the hard-driving "Cannonball" would be the only major hit off the album (unless you count "Divine Hammer," which wasn't nearly as big), many of the tracks -- while highly diversified -- are strangely trippy, disjointed and underdeveloped, in other words, they seem more like short fragments, which seem to end abruptly...only to switch to an entirely different song (or rather, idea) altogether. This whole aspect may seem frustrating to many listeners, and understandably so, but when appreciated as something of an arty collage of sounds, as opposed to an album packed with "songs," the whole thing seems easier to swallow. Had I went into buying this album for the first time in 1993 with this mindset, it wouldn't have taken dozens of listens for me to finally start loving the album. But, as they say, the things that take time and effort to love, are the things that you usually end up loving for a lifetime.

Clocking in at 39 minutes, this album is an ever-fascinating smorgasbord of indie/post-punk, psychedelia, surf, grunge, and possible other things, which is packed with melody, charisma and a certain kind of wistful nostalgia; an indescribably pleasant, summery retro-feel is spiked throughout the diversified indie-rock musings. The talent it takes to blend and create these diverse soundscapes is something that shouldn't be taken lightly, although the approach to this album (described above) would certainly tend to obscure this to everyone, except those with discerning minds and ears. The sounds here as a whole are akin to the album artwork: hazy, colorful, trippy, multi-faceted and always fascinating. Definitely recommended, if any of the things described above tickle your fancy.

While Pod may have been the first official Breeders album, and was by no means a disappointment, Last Splash is perhaps more worthy of the title. Having now adequately distanced herself from the wonderfully seminal Pixies, Kim Deal finally sounds content to move on and craft a new sound that is uniquely her own. Shedding the Pixies shell and trademark Albini production, Last Splash replaces the subtle abrasiveness of Pod with full on metallic ferocity and the simplistically charming melodies with grandiose surf tinged art pop, signaling a great overall maturity in the Breeders sound that make them as viscerally powerful as the Melvins while still as intelligently catchy as the Beach Boys. The Breeders new style is only further enhanced by the addition of twin sister Kelley who frequently lends her lead guitar lines and charming backup voice to the mix. This said, the groundwork for Last Splash is laid allowing the Deal sisters' syrupy sweet vocals to dance delicately above the cacophonous riffs and melodic hooks of the dual guitars while the syncopated rhythm section plods along beneath them. This complicated collage that is Last Splash attempts to mix the pure pop of the Beatles with the thrashy pre-alt rock of the Stooges and succeeds at every turn. Proving consistent the entire way through time and time again, the feel good vibes of Last Splash are always rewarding and whether it's the carefully balanced noise of Roi or the soothing disconnected ballad of Mad Lucas, every song is sure to satisfy. A melding of pop and rock truly as seamless and enchanting as Last Splash only comes around once in a while, but when it does, the Breeders are sure to be behind it.

While driving through Utah this summer, my girlfriend's little sister insisted we start this CD on track 13, but since the CD player repeats we still hear all the songs... I think she just wanted to hear "Driving on 9" twice, as it's a brilliant finish to the CD... but the thing is, the ebb and flow of this CD is absolutely brilliant! If you let it roll on repeat and start in the middle or end, it just doesn't seem to have a beginning or an end. Instead, it has a kind of ying-yang flow that pulls you into an endlessly beautiful, powerful vision of the world. You have to really play it a few times to get it, but not too many times.

Another great trademark of a masterpiece is that it never seems to get old or dated. I really believe that if it were released today it would still get plenty of airplay. Whatever you may have heard about this CD, well, it's all talk until you really start playing it. A masterpiece speaks for itself, and that's exactly what this is: A Rock'n'Roll Power Pop Masterpiece.

If you like crashing dream music with fuzzed-out crush guitar contrasted with a sexy and occasionally distorted/semi-ragged little girlish voice, this is for you. There's also a Pixie-ish sound in the mix at times, which makes sense of course as lead singer/guitarist Kim Deal was bassist for the Pixies. There's also a dash of surf music and a touch of Beach Boys influence as well.

For many, including me, this album defines the summer/fall period when it first came out. There is indeed a pervading feeling of summer (Cannonball, No Aloha, Saints) although there's actually quite a bit of variety here (which is cool). "Mad Lucas" sounds like the inside of a deranged yet placid mind while "Roi" is downright menacing.

Not all of the songs are what you'd call masterpieces nor are they meant to be. The variety serves to accentuate the best moments, like mountain peaks. One could complain, if so inclined, about the rather unnecessary remake of "Do You Love Me Now?" (which first appeared on the superb SAFARI EP), but I personally think they did it because it fits LAST SPLASH so well. I like both versions, but if pressed would choose the SAFARI one.

In it's heyday, LAST SPLASH was definitive "alternative rock" The drum style on "Cannonball" in particular. Now that is a cool song. What a killer bass riff.

I bought this CD in middle school, cause I had fallen in love with "Divine Hammer" (one of the most perfectly crafted and subversive pop songs ever). 6 years later, I've fallen in love with the entire album. Kim Deal's amazingly weird voice holds the songs together, all of which seem to have perfected the whole power-punk-pop styling thing. The stress is on the power & punk, but the songs are just too melodic not to be pop. "Divine Hammer" and "Cannonball" were the deserved hits, but pay attention to "New Year" "No Aloha" "Invisible Man" and "Do You Love Me Now?" "Do You Love" is a fun guess-Kim's-influences song. As some of the other reviews point out, this is a TOTAL summertime driving roadtrip album. If you listen to it in the winter, you're just not going to get the same effect. Pop it in your CD player and start cruising.

You know an album is good when you sing along with every single note, including the baselines and the drums and the guitars, and the background noises...no bye, no...a-lo-ha ba-ow no-ow wh-ow-wow-wow -weee-oww

Though I feel their album "Pod" is better, I dig "Last Splash" and I think the Deal sisters are so awesome with their strange voices and beautiful obtuse lyrics.

The tubesocked ones rock out on such great tunes as "do you love me now?", "flipside", "mad lucas", the fabulous "invisible man"

"he's the invisible man, count the buckles in your hand"

"no aloha"is also an exceptional pretty tune that grabs you immediately and runs rampant through your mind at odd times
"i know i saw and now may die
ohhhhhh the treats
saw it on the wall
motherhood means mental freeze"

i love the dreamy poetic songs and this cd has a high loveable content, a classic that you will listen to for years, and years and years.

OK, first of all, when you start your review by saying "I wasn't a fan of Kim Deal's first band, The Pixies" you're in trouble. As far as I'm concerned, that's just a few steps away from saying, "I wasn't a big fan of Paul McCartney's first band." Sorry for the slam... just had to get it off my chest.

The most frequent criticism of this album is that too many of the songs offer great ideas that just aren't played out fully. I think there is truth to this, but what redeems "Last Splash" for me is that the album feels like just that - a whole album. There is great variety here, but there is also a great deal of flow that makes it all work well.

This album (and Breeders work in general) demonstrates clearly what all careful listeners and fans of The Pixies have perceived all along - that Kim Deal is an awesome force. Her vocals are incompareable - winsome, sweet, sarcastic, powerful all at the same time. The mood and attitude of songs like "Gigantic" and "I Bleed" are all over this album, and being away from Black Francis/Frank Black makes it clearer than I ever realized how downright creative/inventive she is musically.

I do think that this album holds up well - even "Cannonball" doesn't sound dated to me, and I still find myself interested in the album after listening to it for 9 years. This album (and all of what Kim Deal has put out, including "Title TK") really deserves credit for giving us something different, interesting, and satisfying to listen to.