As we wrap up the first week of 2024, it’s time to put the holiday celebrations and time off behind us and look ahead to the new year. To help you kick start your safety endeavors, EHS Daily Advisor’s Song of the Week is a short blast of indie rock awesomeness from the Breeders, appropriately titled “New Year.”
The leadoff track on the Breeders’ classic 1993 album Last Splash, “New Year” clocks in at just under two minutes and starts slowly before ripping into a furious frenzy of riffing while frontwoman Kim Deal sings, “I am the sun/I am the new year/I am the rain.” It doesn’t let up and leads right into the band’s big hit “Cannonball.”
Originally a side project of Deal’s while she was still in the Pixies, Last Splash rode the alt-rock wave of the early ’90s and established the band as a bona fide force. The video for “Cannonball” was constantly played on MTV, the songs were on the radio and the band opened for Nirvana’s final tour.
The album reached #33 on the Billboard Top 200 Albums chart and was certified platinum in 1994. The Breeders have only released three more albums since, but they are still touring and last year released a 30th anniversary edition of Last Splash.