Colin Meloy

The year was 1993. The Pixies were fizzling out. It was time for a new quirky pop band to fill the void. (Who would provide that first track on some angsty 16-year-old's mix-tape?) The Breeders, featuring Pixies bassist Kim Deal (imagine that!), were that band. But alas, after a few semi-hits—“Cannonball” is the only song anyone with cable television remembers—they seemed a bit passé by, oh, 1996. By then, Ms. Deal was already busy with a little-remembered side project called the Amps. But here we are, some 15 years (and one milked-for-every-penny-it-was-worth Pixies reunion later), and who should have a new album out but … The Breeders! It’s called Mountain Battles, and it’s their fourth studio album, and first since 2002's Title TK. It's comforting in that, “I wish MTV still had shows like 120 Minutes” sort of way. As for the quality of the album itself, Radar writes that Battles “sounds like it came from the clouded minds of exalted 40-something indie-frumps who were hotboxing a 1982 Datsun in a Dayton, Ohio, parking lot.” Sounds good to us!  read more »

THEATER

Ernest Hemingway only wrote one play during this literary career: The Fifth Column, a Spanish Civil War-era drama of espionage and romace that he penned while covering the war in Madrid. The off-Broadway Mint Theater will be presenting the play starting Feb. 26, marking the production's first faithful performance on the stage. [On Sale Now!]

CONCERTS

If Colin Meloy's forthcoming EP of Sam Cooke covers is anywhere near as good as the EP of Morrissey covers he did a few years back, then you won't want to miss the Decemberists front man's April 16 and 17 shows at the Music Hall of Williamsburg. The EP will only be available on Mr. Meloy's spring tour, and like his Moz disc, it will probably sell out like hot cakes. [On Sale: Saturday, Feb. 9 at 12 p.m.]  read more »