Pod is the debut studio album by American alternative rock band the Breeders, released by 4AD records on May 29, 1990. Engineered by Steve Albini, the album features band leader Kim Deal on vocals and guitar, Josephine Wiggs on bass, Britt Walford on drums, and Tanya Donelly on guitar. Albini's production prioritized sound over technical accomplishment; the final takes favor the band's spontaneous live "in studio" performances.
The Breeders formed in 1988 when Deal, bass player for Pixies, befriended Donelly of Throwing Muses during a European tour. They recorded a country-infused demo in 1989, leading to 4AD co-founder Ivo Watts-Russell funding an album, Pod, recorded that year at the Palladium studio in Edinburgh, Scotland. The cover art was designed by Vaughan Oliver and portrays a man performing a fertility dance while wearing a belt of eels.
Due in part to Deal's work with the Pixies, the album was widely anticipated, particularly in Europe. It became a critical and popular success, reaching number 22 in the UK. Critics praised its dark, sexualized lyrics, and compared it favorably to the Pixies. Nirvana's Kurt Cobain said it was one of his favorite records, and Pitchfork ranked it number 81 on its list of the best albums of the 1990s.
Background
In 1988, Kim Deal of the Pixies became friends with Tanya Donelly of Throwing Muses when their respective bands undertook a joint tour of Europe. Deal and Donelly spent time together playing guitar, drinking beer,Donelly, Tanya in and sharing musical ideas.Deal, Kim in They often went clubbing together in the bands' hometown of Boston.Donelly, Tanya in While attending a Sugarcubes concert, the two drunkenly decided to write and record dance songs.Murphy, John in Their first attempt to work together was based around the idea of an "organic dance band" consisting of Deal on bass, Donelly on guitar, and two drummers. They recorded Donelly's "Rise" with Throwing Muses' David Narcizo, and planned more originals, as well as a cover of Rufus and Chaka Khan's "Tell Me Something Good".
A year and a half passed without the pair recording new material. During this time, they decided their attempt at dance music was not working, and resolved to repurpose their songs for a different genre. Deal became more serious about her work with Donnelly when the Pixies' Black Francis announced he was undertaking a solo tour. She decided that if he could be active outside of the Pixies, then she could too.
Journalists have speculated that Deal felt motivated to start a new band because of her diminishing role and lack of creative input in the Pixies, which Deal has often denied.Deal, Kim in Deal, Kim in However, in one interview she complained angrily about Francis singing lead vocals in almost all of the band's songs and said that if she could not sing more in the Pixies, she would sing in another band instead.Deal, Kim in Pixies' guitarist Joey Santiago later recalled that Deal had a strong desire to contribute songs to the group to express her creativity, but eventually resigned herself and begrudgingly accepted Francis as the band's sole singer and songwriter.Santiago, Joey in According to Francis, Deal had once offered several new songs to the group that were not accepted because they sounded too different from the band's repertoire;Francis, Black in in Santiago's view, Francis’ own rejection of the songs reflected his attitude that the group "made pizzas, not cookies". Francis admitted in the mid-1990s to not especially liking Deal's non-Pixies music, due to "personal taste".Francis, Black in
Because the Pixies and Throwing Muses were signed to different American record labels, Deal and Donelly could not both be principal songwriters for their joint project.Donelly, Tanya in They focused on Deal's compositions for what would become Pod, intending to use Donelly's songs for a subsequent album. After Pods release, Deal and Donelly recorded a demo of the latter's songs in preparation for the Breeders' second album. Donelly left the group in 1991, and used her compositions for her new band, Belly.Donelly, Tanya in Before parting, she contributed guitar and vocals to the Breeders' 1992 Safari EP, although none of her compositions appear on the record.
Demo In 1989 the pair recorded a country music-influenced demo with violinist Carrie Bradley and bassist Ray Holiday.Murphy, John in Paul Kolderie engineered several of the songs, but Deal found his production "too clean" and employed Joe Harvard of Fort Apache Studios to remix.Harvard, Joe in Deal called the project "the Breeders", a name she and her sister Kelley had used when performing as teenagers. The name comes from a slang term used in the LGBT community to refer to straight people, which Kim found amusing. Ivo Watts-Russell, co-founder of the Pixies' and Throwing Muses' UK label 4AD, was enthusiastic about the demo and Deal's potential as a songwriter, and gave the band an advance of $11,000 to record an album.Deal, Kim in
Although Deal played bass with the Pixies, she changed to guitar for the Breeders, finding it an easier instrument to manage while singing, and so recruited Josephine Wiggs of the Perfect Disaster on bass. Deal asked Steve Albini, who had worked on the Pixies' Surfer Rosa, to engineer the album. Deal thought it would be fun to form an all-female band, "[like] the Bangles from Hell". She wanted Kelley to be the Breeders' drummer, but Kelley could not get time away from her job as a program analyst. As an alternative, Albini suggested they try Slint's Britt Walford,Albini, Steve in who used the pseudonym Shannon Doughton for Pod because he did not want his contribution to the album to overshadow his role in Slint. Deal, Wiggs, and Walford rehearsed for a week at Wiggs' house in Bedfordshire, England, before joining Donelly in London for further rehearsals.
Recording
Pod was recorded in January 1990 at Palladium studio, in Edinburgh, Scotland, which had recording equipment on the first floor and bedrooms upstairs. During the sessions, the band sometimes wore pajamas, and more than once went to a local pub without changing.Donelly, Tanya in Although 4AD booked the studio for two weeks, the band completed their recording in a single week. To use the remaining time, the label hired a television crew to film a music video, and the band recorded a session for John Peel's show on BBC Radio 1.
Albini—who worked on thousands of recordings including albums by Nirvana, Page and Plant, and PJ Harvey—described his role as more technical than artistic, and preferred to be described as an engineer rather than producer. He had a preference for analogue recording techniques, and was noted for his careful placement of microphones in the studio to achieve a nuanced "roomy" sound. Further, in Albini's ethical approach to recording and to the mechanics of the music industry, he made a point of not attempting to influence the band's song arrangements. He was known for his vocal and dim view of the music industry, and the press often depicted him as not easy to work with. He also sometimes had a reputation for being misogynist, in part from the name of his former band Rapeman.
Despite his reputation, Donelly recalls being especially comfortable working with Albini,Donelly, Tanya in whom she found "sweet".Donelly, Tanya in Wiggs and Donelly have both commented that although Albini often downplays his degree of influence on an album's quality, for Pod his contributions were considerable.Wiggs, Josephine in Donelly, Tanya in Donelly has praised Albini for the input that he gave the band prior to recording. This included convincing the band to reduce the number of vocal harmonies and give more prominence to Deal's vocals. Donelly believes the removal of harmonies made the performances "more effective and sadder and ... focused". Albini paid attention to capturing strong live performances in the studio. His main concern was achieving the best sound, rather than seeking the best technical performances.
Albini had a policy of never doing more than two takes of each song. This led to confrontations with Donelly, who remembers: "For all the fights we had with him in the studio, for all the times I'd stomp upstairs in my pajamas screaming that I couldn't live with such-and-such a guitar part, the next morning I realized he was usually right." Deal also often fought with Albini. Wiggs was struck with how quickly Albini and the other musicians resolved issues through short, intense arguments, an ability she attributed to their being American.Wiggs, Josephine in Albini saw Walford's drumming as an integral part of the band's sound. Then 19 years old, Walford was a confident and hard-hitting drummer who typically played one of his drums behind the beat. Song tempos were faster than Wiggs had expected, which arose in part because Deal lacked the breath control to sing her lines in a slower manner.
Music and lyrics Pod has sparse instrumentation. Music critic Colin Larkin likened the album to the Pixies for its threatening melodies and loud, resounding guitars. The New York Times Karen Schoemer also found similarities to the Pixies, citing Pods "angular melodies, shattered tempos and screeching dynamics", but felt the album nonetheless had its own identity distinct from Deal's previous band. Unlike the demo, the album does not have a country-influenced sound.
Other writers have noted the album's sinister, sexual and youthful feel. Matt LeMay of Pitchfork wrote that Deal's singing is spooky, and evokes a mythical siren or a young girl hiding a weapon. Melody Makers Ted Mico compared the tone of the songs to the innocent-looking girl in Poltergeist who dribbles blood. Albini said that "there was a simultaneous charm to Kim's presentation to her music that's both childlike and giddy and also completely mature and kind of dirty ... [it had a] sort of girlish fascination with things that were pretty but it was also kind of horny. That was a juxtaposition that, at the time, was unusual. You didn't get a lot of knowing winks from female artists at the time."
Songs
Deal has said that many of the songs are sexual in nature. The slow-paced opening track "Glorious" describes an adult who has vague but pleasant memories of being molested as a child by an aunt. It and the next song, "Doe", were co-written by Ray Halliday. "Doe" concerns a schizophrenic teenage couple losing their grip of reality after taking Thorazine; in a delusional state they plan to burn down their town. LeMay described this track as possessing a beautiful, gripping quality, while NMEs Steve Lamacq cited it as an example of using reduced instrumentation to good effect ("stripped down but punchy").
Larkin believes that the band's cover of the Beatles' "Happiness Is a Warm Gun" achieves a friction that the original only hints at, and Lamacq commented on its tight sound and prominent drum part. The Breeders recorded the song at the suggestion of Watts-Russell.Murphy, John in "Oh!" has—according to writer Martin Aston—a slow tempo, restrained drumming, a sad violin performance by Carrie Bradley, and unexpectedly raw singing by Deal. She had planned to use the title "The Insect Song" because its lyrics tell the story of one insect encouraging others, hoping they do not get stepped on.