Last Splash
1993 studio album by the Breeders
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Last Splash is the second studio album by American alternative rock band the Breeders, released on August 30, 1993. Originally formed as a side project for Pixies bassist Kim Deal, the Breeders quickly became her primary recording outlet. Last Splash peaked at number 33 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, and by June 1994, the album had been certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipments in excess of one million units.
- Coast Recorders, North Hollywood
- Brilliant Studios, San Francisco
- Refraze Recording Studio, Dayton
| Last Splash | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | August 30, 1993 | |||
| Recorded | 1990–93 | |||
| Studio |
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| Genre | ||||
| Length | 39:38 | |||
| Label | 4AD/Elektra Records | |||
| Producer |
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| The Breeders chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Last Splash | ||||
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| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 86/100[3] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [4] |
| Blender | [5] |
| Chicago Tribune |  [6] |
| Entertainment Weekly | A−[7] |
| NME | 6/10[8] |
| Pitchfork | 9.0/10[9] |
| Rolling Stone | [10] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [11] |
| Spin | 9/10[12] |
| The Village Voice | A−[13] |
The title of the album is taken from a line in the lyric of its lead single, "Cannonball". The video for "Cannonball" was directed by Spike Jonze and Kim Gordon, and the video for the album's second single "Divine Hammer" was directed by Jonze, Gordon and Richard Kern. A looped guitar sample of "S.O.S." was used by the English electronic music band the Prodigy in their 1996 hit single "Firestarter". A sample from "I Just Wanna Get Along" was used in another track by the Prodigy called "World's on Fire" from the Invaders Must Die album.
In 2003, Pitchfork listed the album at number 64 on their list of the Top 100 Albums of the 1990s.[14] In 2020, Rolling Stone ranked the album number 293 in their revised list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time (after not including it in the original 2003 list or the 2012 revision).[15] On May 13, 2013, 4AD released LSXX, a deluxe 20th anniversary version of the album,[16] and on September 22, 2023, 4AD released Last Splash (30th Anniversary Original Analog Edition),[17] with additional tracks "Go Man Go" and "Divine Mascis".
Composition
Last Splash has been categorized as alternative rock,[9] as well as indie rock,[18] noise pop[6][9] and "effervescent" pop rock.[12] It is also considered "wildly", "willingly" experimental,[14][19] sporting art rock textures, "pure", "twisted" pop, and Hawaiian surf music.[20][21] The latter genre is seen in the "tiki bar twang" of "No Aloha" and the "gonzo" surf rock of instrumental "Flipside".[20][22] "I Just Wanna Get Along" takes on "spiky" pop-punk,[4] while cover "Drivin' on 9" pulls in acoustic and country sounds.[12][22]
Legacy and impact
Dubbed one of the "most enduring masterpieces" of alternative rock,[9] Last Splash has been praised for "perfectly encapsulat[ing] all that was great and wonderful" about the genre's explosion in that era.[23] Nashville Scene's Sean L. Maloney saw Splash both "[distill] the zeitgeist into perfect alt-pop nuggets", but also serve as "the last gasp of alternative music as an actual alternative to the mainstream".[24] The Quietus' Emily Mackay considered it "a key album" for the genre's mainstream crossover.[8]
In a retrospective review of it 20 years on, Stereogum's Tom Breihan called it "a warm, homemade, deeply and consciously odd" record.[18]
Accolades
| Publication | Country | Type | List | Year | Rank | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
United States |
Decade-end |
Top 100 Favorite Records of the 1990s |
2003 |
64 |
||
The 50 Best Rock Albums of the '90s |
2021 |
46 |
||||
The 90 Greatest Albums Of The '90s |
39 |
|||||
Treble |
91 Essential Alternative Rock Albums of the '90s |
2023 |
-- |
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All-time |
Top 101-200 Albums of All time |
2004 |
162 |
|||
Women Who Rock: The 50 Greatest Albums of All Time |
2012 |
49 |
||||
2020 |
293 |
|||||
United Kingdom |
The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time |
2013 |
200 |
|||
United States |
The 150 Greatest Albums Made By Women |
2017 |
144 |
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The 300 Greatest Albums of All Time |
2024 |
122 |
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| "--" indicates an unordered list. | ||||||
Track listing
Original 1993 release
All tracks are written by Kim Deal, except where noted.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "New Year" | 1:56 | |
| 2. | "Cannonball" | 3:33 | |
| 3. | "Invisible Man" | 2:48 | |
| 4. | "No Aloha" | 2:07 | |
| 5. | "Roi" | 4:11 | |
| 6. | "Do You Love Me Now?" |
| 3:01 |
| 7. | "Flipside" | 1:59 | |
| 8. | "I Just Wanna Get Along" |
| 1:44 |
| 9. | "Mad Lucas" | 4:36 | |
| 10. | "Divine Hammer" | 2:41 | |
| 11. | "S.O.S." | 1:31 | |
| 12. | "Hag" | 2:55 | |
| 13. | "Saints" | 2:32 | |
| 14. | "Drivin' on 9" |
| 3:22 |
| 15. | "Roi (Reprise)" | 0:42 |
LSXX track listing
There are two versions of LSXX: a 3-CD package and a 7-disc vinyl set.[33] The CD and vinyl formats have the same track listings.
The vinyl set contains the following vinyl:
- Last Splash
- "The Stockholm Syndrome" (partially previously released as Live in Stockholm 1994)
- Demos, rare tracks & session versions
- Safari EP
- Cannonball EP
- Divine Hammer
- Head to Toe EP
The track listing below is for the 3-CD set. All songs are by Kim Deal except where noted.
Disc 1 – Last Splash
- The first disc contains the original release track listing.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Do You Love Me Now?" (previously released on "Safari" EP) | Kim Deal, Kelley Deal | |
| 2. | "Don't Call Home" (previously released on "Safari" EP) | Kim Deal, John Murphy | |
| 3. | "Safari" (previously released on "Safari" EP) | ||
| 4. | "So Sad About Us" (previously released on "Safari" EP) | Pete Townshend | |
| 5. | "Cro-Aloha" (previously released on the "Cannonball" single) | ||
| 6. | "Lord of the Thighs" (previously released on the "Cannonball" single) | Steven Tyler | |
| 7. | "900" (previously released on the "Cannonball" single) | Josephine Wiggs | |
| 8. | "Divine Hammer (Single Version)" (previously released on the "Divine Hammer" single) | ||
| 9. | "Hoverin'" (previously released on the "Divine Hammer" single) | Kim Deal, John Murphy | |
| 10. | "I Can't Help It (If I'm Still in Love with You)" (previously released on the "Divine Hammer" single) | Hank Williams | |
| 11. | "Do You Love Me Now Jr?" (previously released on the "Divine Hammer" single) | Kim Deal, Kelley Deal | |
| 12. | "Head to Toe" (previously released on the "Head to Toe" EP) | Josephine Wiggs | |
| 13. | "Shocker in Gloomtown" (previously released on the "Head to Toe" EP) | Robert Pollard | |
| 14. | "Freed Pig" (Sebadoh cover previously released on the "Head to Toe" EP) | Lou Barlow | |
| 15. | "Saints (Head to Toe Version)" (Last Splash demo, November 1992) | ||
| 16. | "New Year" (Last Splash demo, November 1992) | 2:04 | |
| 17. | "Grunggae" (Last Splash demo, November 1992) | 2:34 | |
| 18. | "Invisible Man" (Last Splash demo, previously released on the "13 Year Itch" 4AD compilation CD) | 2:44 | |
| 19. | "No Aloha" (Last Splash demo, November 1992) | 2:34 | |
| 20. | "I Just Wanna Get Along" (Last Splash demo, November 1992) | Kim Deal, Kelley Deal | 1:41 |
| 21. | "Mad Lucas" (Last Splash demo, November 1992) | 2:29 | |
| 22. | "S.O.S." (Last Splash demo, November 1992) | 1:37 | |
| 23. | "Saints" (Last Splash demo, November 1992) | 2:10 | |
| 24. | "900" (Last Splash demo, November 1992) | Josephine Wiggs | 3:15 |
| 25. | "Iris (Live Version)" (previously released on the No Alternative compilation) | 3:44 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Shocker in Gloomtown" (Live in Stockholm) | Robert Pollard | 2:20 |
| 2. | "New Year" (Live in Stockholm) | 2:05 | |
| 3. | "Hellbound" (Live in Stockholm) | 2:24 | |
| 4. | "Saints" (Live in Stockholm) | 2:31 | |
| 5. | "Hag" (Live in Stockholm) | 3:44 | |
| 6. | "I Just Wanna Get Along" (Live in Stockholm) | Kim Deal, Kelley Deal | 1:52 |
| 7. | "S.O.S." (Live in Stockholm) | 1:44 | |
| 8. | "Roi" (Live in Stockholm) | 2:35 | |
| 9. | "Head to Toe" (Live in Stockholm) | Josephine Wiggs | 2:18 |
| 10. | "Happiness Is a Warm Gun" (Live in Stockholm) | John Lennon, Paul McCartney | 2:28 |
| 11. | "Cannonball" (Live in Stockholm) | 3:49 | |
| 12. | "Invisible Man" (Live in Stockholm) | 2:50 | |
| 13. | "Doe" (Live in Stockholm) | Kim Deal, Ray Halliday | 2:39 |
| 14. | "Drivin' on 9" (Live in Stockholm) | Dom Leone, Steve Hickoff | 3:55 |
| 15. | "Don't Call Home" (Live in Stockholm) | Kim Deal, John Murphy | 3:20 |
| 16. | "Limehouse" (Live in Stockholm) | 1:52 | |
| 17. | "No Aloha" (BBC Session) | 2:26 | |
| 18. | "Flipside" (BBC Session) | 1:58 | |
| 19. | "Divine Hammer" (BBC Session) | 2:36 | |
| 20. | "Hag" (BBC Session) | 2:33 |
Personnel
The Breeders
- Kim Deal – lead vocals, guitar, Moog, Casiotone
- Kelley Deal – guitar, Kenmore 12-stitch, lap steel, mandolin, vocals, lead vocals on "I Just Wanna Get Along"
- Jim MacPherson – drums, bass on "Roi"
- Josephine Wiggs – bass guitar, double bass, vocals, cello, drums on "Roi"
Artwork
- Jason Love – photography
- Paul MoMenamin – design assistant
- Vaughan Oliver – art direction, design
- Kevin Westenberg – portraits
Additional musicians
- Carrie Bradley – violin, additional vocals
Production
- Kim Deal – producer
- Mark Freegard – production, engineering
- Sean Leonard – assistant engineering
- Daniel Presley – engineering on "Divine Hammer"
- Andy Taub – assistant engineering
Chart positions
Singles
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Certifications
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