The Safari EP marks the transition from the raw Albini-produced early Breeders material, such as their début LP Pod and the more polished (and commercially successful) follow-up The Last Splash.
The Breeders formed as an “indie supergroup” of sorts. Led by Kim Deal of The Pixies, and featuring Tanya Donelly (Throwing Muses, later Belly) and Josephine Wiggs (The Perfect Disaster).
During the recording of Pod, Deal and Donelly remained with their “main” bands. Pixies were between Doolittle and Bossanova, while Throwing Muses had released Hunkpapa but not yet their relatively commercially successful fourth LP The Real Ramona) - the last to feature Donelly until 2003.
Pod was produced by Steve Albini, whose style suited the raw, basic, nature of the songs, mostly penned by Kim Deal. At the time, the band hinted that the second Breeders album would be based around Tanya Donelly songs, but instead she left to form her own band Belly, while Deal recruited her twin sister Kelley, and the result was the hit record Last Splash.
The Safari EP, released between Pod and Last Splash marks the transition - not least because it still features Tanya Donelly, while introducing Kelley Deal. It’s also a transition sonically, with the title track sounding more like Pod, while Do You Love Me Now? points the way forwards to Last Splash.
Those two tracks also happen to be two of my favourite Breeders tracks, so, failing to decide which to use, I decided to include the whole EP. The record also includes Don‘t Call Home and a cover of The Who’s So Sad About Us.
