The Breeders

Mountain Battles, the first LP from those Deal sisters and their Breeders since 2002's Title TK, will be released on 4AD April 7 in the UK and the following day in the U.S. Recorded off and on over several years and as many locales, with recording assistance from the likes of Steve Albini, Erika Larson, and Manny Nieto, the disc sports a baker's dozen of Daytonian pop blasts, including the recently Forkcasted "We're Gonna Rise". Drummer Jose Medeles and bassist Mando Lopez, who played on Title TK, also appear on Mountain Battles.

Kim recently spoke with Rolling Stone about the album, on which she claims to have done "a little more with overdubs" than on the band's sparser back catalog (we're gonna assumed Albini wasn't involved with that sordid business). Generally balking at that sort of unnatural adornment, Deal says she threw caution to the wind with Mountain Battles, occasionally deciding, "let's have a guitar part that obviously nobody in the band can be playing right now." Kelly apparently sings a passable cover of the Spanish-language song "Regalame Esta Noche" despite a complete lack of fluency in said tongue, while Kim takes her linguistic passport to Germany on "German Studies".

As if a new Breeders album wasn't enough, full U.S., UK, and European tours are in the works for next year, including a spate of shows at this spring's South by Southwest festival, Toronto's Canadian Music Week and, yes, an appearance at Coachella. All those dates have yet to be firmed up, but you folks just got a Coachella confirmation, so I'm sure you've got plenty to talk about in the meantime.

The Deals do have one date on the way, though you'd better hurry: Kim and Kelley will make an appearance tonight (12/4) in Chicago at the Second City's "Letters to Santa" benefit for needy children.