The Breeders have come a long way since the early 1990s – and twin sisters Kelley and Kim Deal are still going strong almost 20 years on.

The band opened with a classic No Aloha from the acclaimed album Last Splash, and continued with a selection of old and new songs alike from their classic albums and their new EP Fate to Fatal. The gig lasted around an hour and a half, giving the band enough time to thrash out some classic tunes! Kim still has the same effortless style and husky voice that she had in her Pixies days before she formed the Breeders in 1988.

As always, King Tut’s was buzzing and the gig was sold out- the band played to a full house on Tuesday night. However, the heat in the venue didn’t seem to phase the band, and Kim and Kelley kept the mood light-hearted and friendly, which added to the intimacy of the band’s performance. The band’s interaction with the crowd was down-to-earth and honest, with the band members even discussing what they would be doing the following day.

Dressed in baggy t-shirts and plain jeans, the Breeders are not a band who wish to make a visual spectacle – the music is what they care about. Although Kim and Kelley have very different singing voices and ranges, their voices compliment each other nicely, as in Bang On, where they sing “I love no one, and no one loves me” in a perfect-sounding harmony. They both share the lead vocals in their songs, with Kelley taking lead on I Just Wanna Get Along. The band also played their cover of Happiness is a Warm Gun by the Beatles, from their album Pod. Probably the most uplifting and recognisable of the band’s set was Cannonball, with its rising and falling bass line and ascending chords. Kelley even brought out her fiddle towards the end of the set in response to an audience member asking if she was going to “get out her fiddle”.

Highlights of the night included Do You Love Me Now?, Saints, We’re Gonna Rise and Bang On. The band conversed with each  other in a relaxed and informal manner, in such a way that they are used to the presence of a crowd before them. The band do have links with Scotland, in that their debut album Pod was recorded in 1989 in Edinburgh, and so such ties with a small country seem to bring the band closer and more comfortable with the audience, which consisted of both young and old fans alike.

The atmosphere felt during and after the gig was contented – the band were just there to play music and have people enjoy their music, which seemed to be the outcome of the night.

By Rebecca Hogg