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 »

As late winter’s doldrums penetrate the city, it’s becoming harder to find a reason to leave the house at night. But what if we told you Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds were headlining the Plug Independent Music Awards tomorrow at Terminal 5? And then what if we told you it was only $10?  read more »

CONCERTS:

The Zombies (file under hip '60s rock bands made popular anew by Wes Anderson movies and TV commercials) are playing Irving Plaza on July 11. The group will have just come off an extensive European stint with fellow British invaders the Yardbirds, though they only seem to have two U.S. dates lined up at the moment (the other is in Virginia). [On Sale: Friday, Feb. 15 at 10 a.m.]

'90s indie rock preservation alert: The Breeders are playing Webster Hall on June 10! Not as major as the Pixies reunion tour, but this is your chance to relive "Cannonball" in all of its Alternative Nation glory. [On Sale: Friday, Feb. 15 at noon]  read more »