Customer Reviews

Pacer

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Kim's quick dismissal (even while jokingly) of this my-other-band-is-on-hiatus band is a bit surprising and a tad sad, for one big reason - Pacer includes some of the most moving, beautifully crafted, and overall best songs of the Kim catalog. This album would easily be the best Breeders release, if it was the Breeders... but it's actually probably better that it isn't. For one thing the different moniker allows this collection of Kim creation to be automatically separated in one's mind from the ahoohah's of Last Splash. And then, well, it just makes for a more wonderfully interesting story, sticking a detour onto Breeder road.
Breeders drummer Jim Macpherson is on here (being the other member of that band that didn't have a reason to stop), as is Kelley Deal, who apparently sings backing vox and plays some bass somewhere..although she's not credited so eh, I don't know where. Kim intended to include her somehow and there are interviews floating around about this if you want to try and figure it out yourself.
And I'd say to all the people who sighed at such a long wait between Breeders albums Last Splash and Title TK, and sighed more at the fundamental differences in sound between the two - quit thinking of the Amps as a side project and you'll make some interesting discoveries...
I generally listen to this album moreso when I'm sad, or just not exactly ecstatic. It complements that mood expertly. It also happens to be pretty relaxing... The only thing I've never put it to use for is background sound. It's too good for that - I can't not pay attention to it.
It's really great happy sadness.

Before the Breeders reunited in 2002, the rock group had splintered into three other groups. One of those side groups was the Amps, headed by Kim Deal. Though the Amps produced only one album, "Pacer" is a low-fi, subtle creature that takes a while to really show its complexity.

It's raw garage... pop. Not quite rock, but deep indiepop, with bits of rock and punk mixed in. It was recorded in a minimalist style, with sunny pop suddenly seguing into the rockin' "Tipp City," where the tempo and sound are upped in a big way. Deal lets rip vocally here, and the music does too.

Other songs sound rough around the edges, but not quite enough to be alienating -- the heavy, thick "Mom's Drunk," the dynamic rock of "Breaking the Split Screen Barrier," and the stripped-down excellence of "Empty Glasses," where the instruments come out into the front.

Compared to the Breeders, there's a feeling of harmony in "Pacer" -- since it was done quickly and with great energy, there's no underlying rivalries or conflicts here. It's just a good band, making good music. And after you've listened to it a few times, it becomes clear that it's also wildly underappreciated.

The musical style does take a little getting used to, just because it will not sound familiar. It's so stripped-down, so lo-fi that it sounds totally unlike your average rock band. But it has a refreshing honesty and lack of pretension, and complex melodies come out if you listen hard enough. Luis Lerma and Jim MacPherson mold their bass and drums into the rock-hard, minimalist basis of each song.

Kim Deal sounded like she was having a good time in "Pacer," whether shouting with ecstacy, yelling, or drunkenly inquiring where the waittress is. Her spiky vocals can be cute or rough, depending on the song, and she brings a sense of vitality to "Pacer." No drowsy monotones here -- Deal wears her limbic system on her sleeve.

The Amps were only a one-shot band, which is saddening, because the promise that brims from the energetic "Pacer" could have lasted a lot longer.

it seems as though this is a one-time album from a one-time band since the Breeders got back together to make "Title TK" and now the Pixies are finally reunited. i have a feeling that The Amps will never make another album. but what a nice neat little album they left behind for us all. the music here is sort of basic 4-chord indie rock that falls somewhere between a simplified version of Pixies and the Breeders (well...duh). i know that sounds like a lazy comparison but it really is how it sounds. but then the vocals come into play and it totally changes the formula. first off all...kim's smoky, husky vocals are a real treasure. she can spoil your ears with her sexy sound. but with The Amps, her vocals sound like they were recorded on a cassette tape that someone stuck in their back pocket and got accidentaly thrown in the washing machine. that could be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on how much of a modified vocal sound you can tolerate. but for most of the material on "Pacer" it works pretty well. there's a few catchy semi-sad songs on here ("Bragging Party," "Mom's Drunk"), some alcohol induced jams ("Empty Glasses" which sounds like a drunken trainwreck with Kim even emulating a train whistle at the beginning of the song), and some just plain odd missteps ("Hoverin," and "Breaking the Split Screen Barrier"). Think of this cd as a bit of an appetizer inbetween main Kim Deal courses and it's easier to enjoy.

Let's just say that Kim Deal is a genius!! This woman has done more in rock than any other women out there. You can trace everything back to her previous band, the Pixies. The Amps was created when The Breeders were on hiatus, while the members wanted to do other things, Kim did not want to stop. She got Breeders' drummer, Jim Macpherson to play along.

The original name for the band was Tammy and the Amps, but Kim decided to shorten it. She went to her hometown of Dayton, OH to record the tracks. This album is totally different from that of any of The Breeders and the Pixies previous albums. She introduced a lo-fi sound that is very much present in the Breeders' latest release, Title TK. This is why she rocks!! She likes to be different and not go with the mainstream. Songs like "Hoverin'" "She's a Girl," and "Bragging Party" are the highlights of this album. In these songs, she brings a hallow, yet, very unique sound to the album. She can go in different vocal ranges, take for example, "Empty Glasses," in which she is screaming, well sort of. It sounds like Kim is trying out different voices in her songs, which shows she could do whatever she wants. It shows she likes to twick a lot while producing this album, and she is not afraid to do it.

A big ups to Ms. Kim Deal. This first and only album is a milestone in itself...and yes Kim, we have heard of the Amps.

Kudos to Ms. Deal. I don't thinks she's ever complimented her abilities as well as this. It's a classic.

I liked the Breeders allright, their remake of "Happiness is a Warm Gun" is possibly the only Beatles cover I can listen to, and at the time I was happy just to hear Kim Deal still making music. But The Amps are a whole 'nother story entirely. More punked out and rough around the edges. Much more like the Kim Deal I wanna hear. And the album itself is very good... more coherent as a whole, more of an album than Last Splash or Pod were. If she keeps going at this pace, she'll be as good alone as she was with the Pixies.

If only everything was this good. With all that lo-fi joy that was central to the best of The Breeders, Kim Deal's newer incarnation as Amps vocalist and songwriter shows her skills at their finest. Short, buzzy pop-rock songs that get into your brain like a pint of cider on a Friday evening from summers of a half-remembered youth. Or something like that. Makes me stop again and shake my head in disbelief and pause in awe at that little old rock band that La Deal and The Black One once were in together. Pop-culture doesn't get any brighter than this.

great album! just good music with an alt-punk feel--- doesn't leave the typical "90's" taste in your mouth , sounds great loud. 'Tipp City' and 'Bragging Party' alone are worth it.... I'm partial to 'Mom's Drunk', too...
Kim Deal is really underrated and underappreciated by the world at large.

Pacer has on it the very best work of her career. "Breaking the Split Screen Barrier" is sheer perfection, even if you can't make out the lyrics. "Dedicated" could very well be one of the greatest songs of all time. Innocent, melancholic, with that ingenious chord progession.

"She's a girl" is equally as brilliant, Kim Deal kickin ass.
"Bragging Party" is womby and hypnotic, although indistinguishable lyrics make it hard to sing along.

Personally, I don't care much for side one. "Pacer" and "Tipp City" are great retro songs, capitalizing on Kim's sound, but I've always felt "I am Decided" and "Mom's Drunk" just don't quite capture it. "Full on idle", however captures a very atmospheric, darker country edge of reality, prozac nation kind of vibe.

It's a good record, overall.
Kim saves the best for last.

the second best Breeders record after "Pod". 'Last Splash"'s great songs were marred by overproduction and "Title TK"'s good songs are sloppy and rambling due to the musicians apparently being stoned throughout the entire record, but this one really clicks. Great, snappy, scrappy, punky songs, great rough production that best suits Kim Deal's aesthetic, and a good band to carry it off. Very listenable and engaging from start to finish and quite addictive.