By – Paul Cordes Wilm

Saving All My Love

Kim Deal has one of the most recognizable voices in indie rock history. We first heard her as a backup and occasional lead vocalist long, long ago when she was part of the pioneering band The Pixies, formed in 1986. Then, we heard her unmistakable voice singing alongside her twin sister Kelley in the 90’s pop rock outfit The Breeders, who were active through many phases, lineups and breakups, but still exist to this very day (they’re latest album, All Nerve (2018) consisting of their 1993 Last Splash album lineup). But the big question on my mind when hearing about her forthcoming Nobody Loves You More album was  : through all of those years, all of those ups and downs, ins and outs, why are we just now hearing Kim Deal’s debut solo album? Why isn’t it her 4th or 5th solo album?!

This is the point where I could have dropped down the internet rabbit hole, delving into Kim’s personal life … family, marriage, children etc … but I chose to keep my blinders on and just wait for the sounds of the album to hopefully explain itself. And it did.

Kim Deal’s debut solo album, Nobody Loves You More requires no professional resume. If it dropped from outer space into our sonic laps without a whisper of Pixies or Breeders, it would still be a powerful, beautiful, sometimes dramatic and sometimes heart-breaking album all on its own. And it seems that the secret recipe of the album’s original and fresh flare is not only Kim’s unique voice. It’s the treatment of each song, providing perfect settings, backdrops and moods to bring a slight theatrical finesse to the entire release. I can see Kim under a single spotlight, alone with her  mic and guitar in a Vegas-type environment performing these tunes, smiling her Kim Deal smile as the appropriate scenery for each song (visually and audibly) changes accordingly. It’s delightful.

It seems to me that these might be songs that Kim Deal has been saving, not for some rainy day, but rather songs saved and polished off just for this moment, just for this wonderful album. Each tune presents something unique and special. There is no hint of Pixies or Breeders here. There is only Kim, being no one but her shining self. And that in itself is intoxicating to behold.