“Just want a girl as cool as Kim Deal” The Dandy Warhols sang in 1997. Not many musicians have had such songs of adulation written about them, but then not every musician has dominated the alternative music scene like Kim Deal.
It seems remarkable that this is her first solo album in a musical career that spans forty years, yet aside from a brilliant series of seven inch singles released in 2013 solely under her own name, this collection of eleven songs marks her first solo full length album. Think you know Kim Deal? Think again…’Nobody Loves You More’ is quintessentially Kim, yet the songs here manage to incorporate electronic beats, strings and brass sections, and range from beautifully warped indie lounge tunes to pounding electronica with plenty of melodic guitar hooks and vocal earworms in between.
Lyrically the album sees Kim diving into her own personal experiences and a treasure trove of memories from childhood holidays by the coast to dealing with her mothers dementia. It’s probably the most personal collection of songs Kim has ever written, yet she manages to sneak a glorious self-deprecating humour into many of the tunes on here. Yeah, she’s the ultimate indie rock queen whose song writing has influenced generations of musicians from the late 80s right up to the present day, but then also sings about being “just another domino falling on my face” in the excellent ‘Crystal Breath’ with its shimmering melodies and gloriously glitchy electro beats rumbling underneath.
Title track ‘Nobody Loves You More’ features former Breeders and Slint member Britt Walford on drums as well as Jack Lawrence (The Raconteurs/ Dead Weather/ Greenhornes) on bass, and begins as a beautifully delicate, slow, wistful tune, with gentle sweeping strings before exploding into a cinematic epic soundtrack territory, kicking up to a thunderous level with a brass section sprinkling a layer of epic Rat Pack era cool over proceedings, like the best jazz swing band in town let loose on free tequila. ‘Coast’ has a summery seaside feel with slide guitars, brass, and although Kim hates the “sun, beach and water sports”, this surf style tune was inspired by her time on the Massachusetts island of Nantucket, and written after attending her friend’s wedding. Its beautiful, woozy guitars, mariachi style trumpets, and Hawaiian style riffs conjuring up lazy days of sun-kissed ambience, ably assisted by sister Kelley Deal on guitar duties, along with former Breeders man Mando Lopez on bass and Lindsay Glover on drums.
One of the best and most innovative tunes on here, the aforementioned ‘Crystal Breath’ sees Kim bringing electronics to the fore, creating a beat driven utopia, which seems to invoke the idea of tearing up the rulebook and starting again, as over the pulsating rhythms she sings “Let’s start a new life, beat’s gonna lead us, beat on” The guitar and vocal melodic hooks which have always powered her other musical endeavours, are never far away, as elsewhere on the album ‘Disobedience’ places those guitars centre stage yet still has enough twist and turns to end up simultaneously melodic and unexpected at the same time.
An early version of ‘Are You Mine’ first appeared on one of the seven inches released in 2013, and is based on her late mother’s dementia “Are you mine, are you my baby, I have no time for nothing but love“ she sings over the slow, quietly reflective sounds of pedal steel, drums, bass, woodwind and strings. The original B-side of the ‘Are You Mine’ seven inch was an instrumental version of ‘Wish I Was’ and was originally an instrumental as Kim felt she could never make the vocals sound cool. The version which made it to the album was recorded in Kim’s basement from a band practice with her on drums and vocals, and former Breeders bandmate Mando Lopez on bass and resounds in gloriously laidback uplifting melodies.
Elsewhere ‘Big Ben Beat’ is an absolute thrill ride from start to finish with distorted guitars and huge drums powering it along with slide guitar melodies riding over the top with Kim singing “We stare at the stupid stars, our love is hard, we are what we’re waiting for” and features Savages members Ayse Hassan on bass and Fay Milton on synths and drum programming. Other tunes bring a more sedate pace to proceedings, with ‘Summerland’ having a slow swing beat by Britt Walford propelling its delicate melodies, and sounding as if it was made for a slow dance under a glitterball in a town brimming with nostalgic seaside glamour. It was written on a ukulele which the late great Steve Albini and his wife Heather gave to her, with the orchestra on the song being recorded by Albini in one take, and the original inspiration for the tune being drawn from the Deal family’s trips to a seaside town in the Florida Keys which they went to most winters. It was the place she returned to in March 2020 with her engineer friend Ben Mumphrey and where, after Ben returned home and lockdown began, she remained for five months!
The album notes state that the album “would not be possible without the friendship and guidance of Steve Albini” and ‘A Good Time Pushed’ was the last song Kim recorded with Steve Albini at his Electrical Audio studios before his untimely passing in May this year. It’s a tune which ebbs and flows with melody, featuring Kelley Deal and Teenage Fanclub’s Raymond McGinley on guitar, with Breeders bandmate Jim McPherson on drums.
A distinctive and unique songwriter and performer, Kim manages to sound effortlessly melodic whilst throwing in musical curveballs from all sides. ‘Nobody Loves You More’ represents a shift both sonically and thematically for Kim, whilst retaining all of the ingredients which have made her such a distinctive songwriter over the last few decades, and which makes her debut solo record one of the best albums you’ll hear all year.
Kim Deal: Nobody Loves You More – Out 22nd November 2024 (4AD Records)
From the early days of creating handmade zines, in a DIY paper and glue style, interviewing bands around town, then pestering Piccadilly Records to sell them, to writing for various independent mags such as Chimp and Ablaze, writing about the music I love is still a great passion. After testing the music industry waters in London with stints at various labels, being back in my hometown again, writing about this city’s vibrant music scene is as exciting as ever. All time favourite bands include Sonic Youth, Nick Cave, Patti Smith although anything from electro to folk via blues and pysch rock will also do nicely too. A great album, is simply a great album, regardless of whatever musical cage you put it in.
