Of all the really good bands in the world, the Breeders are technically one of the sloppiest. The group started at Cambridge’s Middle East club as a strictly-for-fun project and, after 20 years and an almost total lineup overhaul, the spirit hasn’t changed. At a sold-out Paradise show Thursday, the Breeders’ music was still like frontwoman Kim Deal’s personality: friendly, quirky and just a little disheveled.
Yet there was something special about this band beyond mere charm. From the start, the Breeders were an art-punk garage band, more interested in good songs than technical chops. And this week it was the songs that stood up, beyond the blown cues, and raggedy starts and stops. The Breeders even survived a strangely paced set list: How many bands play their greatest hits (“Divine Hammer” and “Cannonball”) in the middle of the show, then go semiacoustic for the finale?
But Deal already did the supertight stadium-rock thing with the reunited Pixies. It seemed obvious that the Breeders are closer to her heart. And the Breeders at their best are still like the Pixies - with more whimsy and less menace.
Thursday’s set list took in all four albums, plus a few songs from Deal’s ’90s side project, the Amps (Pixies songs are apparently off-limits). And they made the familiar jumps from punk-pop to surf to twangy exotica. From the new album, “Mountain Battles,” came “German Studies” (yes, sung in German) and “Here No More,” which sported back-porch harmony between Deal and her twin sister Kelley. It made sense that one of the night’s cover tunes was “Shocker in Gloomtown” by Guided By Voices, another band whose strategy was to hit fans with waves of short songs and let them sort it all out later.
The newish rhythm section seemed a bad match when the Breeders last toured - for one thing, they’re guys - but this time they toned down the punk-rock bluster and got more into the Deal sisters’ loopy groove. Kelley, who did not play guitar when she joined, gave some strong, if basic solos. The band also was joined by an extra guitarist (introduced as Cheryl from Florida) who, Kim swore, was found on craigslist. Kim accepted hugs on her way offstage and signed autographs afterwards, a fitting end for a real hootenanny.
THE BREEDERS
At the Paradise, Thursday night.
