1993 was the year when The Breeders made a commercial breakthrough in the UK, thanks to the critically acclaimed album Last Splash going Top 5, with two of its tracks – Cannonball and Divine Hammer – being minor hits in the singles charts.
Nobody knew that it would take until 2002 for a follow-up album to be made available, with the band more or less becoming inactive for the most part after taking part in the two-month-long Lollapalooza Tour in 1994, where they shared the main stage with Smashing Pumpkins, Beastie Boys, George Clinton & the P-Funk All Stars, A Tribe Called Quest, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, L7, and Green Day.
It was while that tour was underway that their labels – 4AD in Europe and Elektra in the USA – quietly issued a four-track EP, with the 4AD release being on 10″ green standard black vinyl:-
mp3: The Breeders – Head To Toe
mp3: The Breeders – Shocker In Gloomtown
mp3: The Breeders – Freed Pig
mp3: The Breeders – Saints
I didn’t pick this up at the time, only finding it many years later in a second-hand shop. I was quite disappointed when I played it, thinking the lead track was a step-back from the polished efforts that I had enjoyed on Last Splash…it sort of sounds as if it’s a hurried, unfinished track that had been issued just to ensure there was product on sale as they made their way across the States.
Shocker In Gloomtown lasts less time than it takes to type this descriptive sentence – it’s a hard-rocking noisy cover of a song written and recorded by Guided By Voices.
Freed Pig is another cover – lending weight to my theory that the EP was a rushed release – this time of a Sebadoh number, but there is a bit of a tune there in comparison to the two previous tracks.
Rounding things off is an alternative version of Saints, one of the most popular and enduring songs from Last Splash. It’s okay, but not a patch on the original.
The EP barely cracked the Top 75 here in the UK and made no impact in the States.
JC
Lunchtime addendum
This was posted first thing as saying it was on green vinyl.
It isn’t….and thanks to the folk who came on this morning questioning things. I’ve just been into the big cupboard full of vinyl where the singles are stored to check.
Sorry for being an arse!
THE NEW VINYL VILLAIN 
I bought this at the time of release and it looks as if it has barely been played – likely for reasons JC has highlighted. Breeders all but over took Pixies in the popular stakes at the time of Last Splash and this felt a but like a damp squib.
I’ve just realised I don’t own a copy of Last Splash – how on earth did that happen?
None of these tracks made it on to my ICA which says it all really – my copy of this is also in fairly mint condition which shows I never played it much either – it’s also black vinyl and only 3 tracks – doesn’t have saints on…
Most strange – just checked discogs – and there’s no mention of a black 10″ with 3 tracks – only 7″ – and no mention of a 10″ green vinyl – only a 7″ green vinyl
And there was me thinking discogs knew everything about records!!
It was a particularly lo-fi effort, ’tis true. I was also a bit disappointed in this single. I really can’t be sure if I even own a copy – I’d have to drag my boxes of 12″s out to have a look – but pretty sure I don’t as I certainly don’t remember any Breeders on green vinyl.
The version of Saints was released as a single in Europe, which is bizarre as it clearly has a mistake in it! Sounds like a demo.
Not their most stellar release but I’d still rather listen to what Kim Deal is doing than a hell of a lot of other folks.