Two weeks after announcing the departure of bassist Kim Deal, the Pixies this morning surprised fans with the release of “Bagboy,” the band’s first new song since 2004 and one that sounds like may feature the backing vocals of the group’s now-former bassist. But it doesn’t.
The Pixies this morning announced that bassist Kim Deal — who has spent much of this year touring with the reunited Last Splash-era lineup of The Breeders — has left the band , and, in a statement attributed to Black Francis, Joey Santiago and David Lovering, say “we will always consider her a member of the Pixies.”
The Breeders brought their Last Splash 20th anniversary tour to Boston for a homecoming gig Thursday night, but ended up celebrating an earlier era as co-founder Tanya Donelly re-joined Kim Deal and Co. onstage for a pair of numbers, including a giddy, laugh-filled cover of The Beatles’ “Happiness is a Warm Gun.”
The Breeders took advantage of a break in their tour in support of the 20th anniversary reissue of Last Splash to swing by “Late Night With Jimmy Fallon,” where the band played its 1993 alt-rock smash “Cannonball” on air and then stuck around for a web-only performance of the album’s penultimate track, “Drivin’ on 9.”
She may be busy with her Breeders reunion and Last Splash box set, but Kim Deal’s still got time to churn out new music — the latest being the second installment of her new “Solo Series” 7-inches, a two-song single that’s now available digitally and can be pre-ordered on vinyl.
The 20th anniversary reissue of the The Breeders’ ‘Last Splash’ will come in a mammoth 7-disc vinyl box set that features the original record, a live album recorded in Stockholm, a collection of previously unreleased demos, non-album tracks and BBC session cuts, and four individual EPs repressed on 10-inch platters.
The ‘Last Splash’-era lineup of The Breeders — Kim Deal, Kelley Deal, Josephine Wiggs, and Jim Macpherson — have confirmed a rash of new North American and European dates on their tour celebrating the 20th anniversary of that album. 4AD Records plans to release a deluxe 20th anniversary reissue in April.
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