The Breeders – “Wait in the Car” (Singles Going Steady)

Adriane Pontecorvo: “Good morning!” The opening shout from Kim Deal is a perfect one to signal the return of the Breeders, back with a short, quick splash of ’90s-style rock. “Wait in the Car” is almost indulgent in its brevity, thick with crunchy, plugged-in strings. Slightly-off-key “Oh, oh”s complete the devil-may-care mood, never so natural as coming from original alt-rockers like Deal. [8/10]

Evan Sawdey: A clear evocation of their prime Last Splash era sound, the truly amazing thing is that although the song is fairly passable (and has a weird chord structure resemblance to Blur’s “Crazy Beat”), this song feels so far removed from any recognizable trend that it ticks off a few nostalgia checkmarks on its way to being a reminder that guitars don’t have to be slickly produced to have an impact even in 2017. Lots of other institutions have seemingly forgotten this rule, but in 123 seconds, the Deal sisters not only haven’t forgotten this but also remembered the best songs are the ones leaving you wanting more. [6/10]

Tristan Kneschke: You’ll remember the Breeders back in the ’90s with their only breakthrough hit, “Cannonball”, a charged, satisfying riot grrrl rocker. After a long inactive period, the band is back with a new two-minute sprint, the zine-inspired, cut-and-paste DIY video “Wait in the Car”. It’s all here: Kim Gordon intonation, Bikini Kill guitars, Veruca Salt hook. It’s like they never left. [6/10]

Eric Risch: Imbued with chugging chords, punk angst, and syllabic phrases, “Wait in the Car” restores rock and roll to its basic form. Be it a one-off single or a precursor of songs to come, “Wait in the Car” is the best two minutes of rock music you’ll hear all year. Period. [9/10]

Ian Rushbury: Worth the wait? Maybe. If you’re looking for a radical new direction for the Deal sisters well you’ll leave empty-handed. What we have here is a slice of 1992, right down to the grunge-tastic guitar noise. I bet when they play this live, it’ll take the top of your head off, but here it’s too restrained to make the strong impression it needed to. Almost, but not quite. [6/10]

William Nesbitt: The more melodic answer to Pearl Jam’s pulverizing “Lukin”. If you didn’t have ADHD before the video, you will after. Not to worry, clocking in at barely over two minutes, it’s already built for a short attention span. It’s quick, catchy, and grungy. State-of-the-art alternative from 1993. It might go well with a Zima. [8/10]

SCORE: 7.17