It’s hard to believe that it’s been 20 years since The Breeders released their seminal sophomore album Last Splash. In fitting celebration of this milestone, the line-up responsible for the classic album are reuniting and will be touring the record throughout Australia this October! The four piece will headline shows in Sydney, Brisbane and Perth, as well as ATP’s ‘Release The Bats’ festival in Melbourne.

Special guests at the Astor will be Perth locals Emperors, and at the Enmore and Tivoli will be the legendary Screamfeeder. Having recently released a swag of archive material spanning the past 22 years, the Brisbane trio’s chaotic and noisy pop rock will go hand in hand with The Breeders’ timeless rock’n’roll.

To cooincide with the 20th anniversary, The Breeders have released a deluxe edition of Last Splash titled LSXX, which includes previously unreleased tracks, original demos, private photos and much, much more for the discerning fan.

Of course one half of the Deal sisters needed no introduction prior to forming The Breedersway back in 1990 – Kim had of course been bassist of alt-rock behemoth the Pixies since their inception (the two bands co-existing in perfect harmony for a number of years until the Pixies dissolved in acrimony sometime in 1992), while her identical twin Kelley forged a career in computer programming in California, far from their native Ohio. The pair had played together in their teens singing Hank Williams covers in Dayton bars, so when Kim formed this new project with the Throwing Muses’ Tanya Donelly, it was natural that Kelley would be roped into the fold at some point of time.

The original tenure of The Breeders was a brief and torrid affair. Donelly left the band not long after 1990 debut Pod, to be eventually replaced by Kelley Deal (even though she famously couldn’t play guitar at the time), and they were soon opening for Nirvana on their immense 1992 European tour, but things sadly fell into disarray not long after the massive success of Last Splash. In 1995 Kelley was involved in a drug bust that forced the band into an indefinite hiatus, and – although Kim revived the name a while later and various line-ups of The Breeders have been active on and off ever since, releasing two further albums along the way – until now the band’s definitive line-up has never been brought back together, which is why this impending reunion is ever so special for all involved.

So whether you’re a fan from back in the day looking for a stroll down memory lane or a newcomer with an interest in timeless rock’n’roll, make sure you check out The Breeders when they visit Australia next month. They’ll be playing Last Splash in it’s entirety as well as delving into the depths their awesome catalogue. It may be decades until we get to see them in action again, don’t take the risk!