The Breeders
Deal, increasingly frustrated by her inability to have her songs included on Pixies albums, restarted The Breeders in late 1991, enlisting her sister Kelley as third guitarist. The band made its 4AD/Elektra debut with 1992’s four-song Safari EP, though Donelly had by that point left the line-up to start her own successful alt-pop band, Belly. Upon the Pixies’ dissolution later that same year, Deal recruited drummer Jim MacPherson and The Breeders became a full-fledged musical concern, kicking things off with a bang by supporting Nirvana on their 1992 European tour.
The Breeders’ second 4AD/Elektra release, Last Splash, arrived in 1993 to universal praise and seemingly constant college-rock radio airplay. “Cannonball,” the album’s first single, proved a surprise Top 40 hit while also reaching #2 at Modern Rock radio. What’s more, the song’s rollicking video – directed by Sonic Youth’s Kim Gordon and award-winning filmmaker Spike Jonze – virtually defined MTV’s alternative programming of the period. As a result, Last Splash received RIAA platinum certification for sales in excess of 1 million.
The Breeders and Elektra ultimately parted ways in 2004, but the band remains a potent and productive force, with additional albums and EPs released though the 2000’s.