Kim Deal has a way of making the monumental feel like a casual conversation on a porch in Dayton, Ohio. She’s the woman behind the most famous bassline in 90s rock, the voice that gave the Pixies their "secret sauce," and the mastermind of Last Splash. Yet, despite decades of shaping the alternative landscape, she never put out a full-length solo album until now.
Nobody Loves You More isn’t just a collection of new songs. It’s a survival story. It’s an archive.
Honestly, the timeline is kind of wild. Some of these tracks have been sitting in Kim’s "mental basement" since 2011, right after she finished the Pixies' Lost Cities tour. Others were polished in the shadow of personal grief—the loss of both her parents and her longtime collaborator and friend, the late Steve Albini.
It’s an album that sounds like everything she’s ever done and nothing she’s ever done all at once.
The Long Game: From 2011 to 2024
Most people assume a solo debut happens when an artist is young and hungry. Kim Deal did it at 63. She didn't rush. Why would she? She’s Kim Deal.
The recording process for Nobody Loves You More was basically a decade-long nomadic trek. We’re talking about sessions at Electrical Audio in Chicago, her own basement in Dayton, and even a spot in Summerland Key, Florida. The earliest ripples started with a self-released 7-inch series in 2013, including "Are You Mine?" and "Wish I Was." If you watch The Bear, you might recognize an instrumental version of "Wish I Was" floating in the background of a scene.
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She finally wrapped the whole thing in November 2022.
What’s fascinating is how much of the Breeders' DNA she kept while stripping away the "band" expectations. You’ve got her twin sister Kelley Deal on guitar, Jim Macpherson on drums, and Mando Lopez on bass. It’s a family affair, but the focus is laser-pointed at Kim’s specific, often weird, sonic whims.
A Sonic Grab-Bag That Actually Works
The album doesn't stick to one lane. It’s messy in the best way.
- "Coast": This one is basically a "Jimmy Buffett cover band meets indie rock" vibe. It’s sunny but has this biting lyricism about "beautiful kids on the coast" that feels slightly voyeuristic.
- "Crystal Breath": This is where things get industrial and strange. It’s got this krautrock, techno-leaning pulse that sounds like it belongs in a dark club in Berlin rather than a basement in Ohio.
- "Are You Mine?": This is the heart of the record. Kim wrote it about her mother’s struggle with Alzheimer’s. It’s a tender, devastating ballad that uses pedal steel and strings to create this "Mr. Sandman" doo-wop atmosphere that feels like a fading memory.
Why Nobody Loves You More Matters Right Now
There’s a lot of "legacy" music out there that feels like a museum piece. This isn't that.
Kim Deal’s influence is everywhere—from Kurt Cobain (who famously said Pod was one of the most influential albums of his life) to modern stars like Olivia Rodrigo. But on this record, she isn't trying to be an "icon." She sounds like she’s just making music because she’s "on her boat," as she told the Dayton Daily News. She’s isolated, she’s "doomed," and she’s having a great time.
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The production is organic. It’s got that Steve Albini stamp of "let the instruments breathe." In an era of over-compressed, AI-adjacent pop, hearing the actual space between a snare hit and a bass pluck is a relief. It’s tactile. You can practically smell the basement dust.
The Albini Connection
We can’t talk about this album without mentioning Steve Albini. He gifted Kim a ukulele after she sang at his wedding, and that very instrument is what she used to write "Summerland."
The final track, "A Good Time Pushed," was the last thing she recorded with him before he passed in 2024. It’s a heavy piece of trivia, but the song itself isn't a dirge. It’s a rocker. It’s Kim, Kelley, and Jim Macpherson doing what they do best. It’s a high-energy "goodbye" that doesn't feel like a funeral.
What People Get Wrong About Kim’s Solo Work
A lot of critics tried to frame this as her "finally breaking free" from the Pixies or the Breeders. That’s a bit of a reach.
Kim has always been free. She left the Pixies in 2013 during a meeting at a café in Wales because she didn't want to record new material with them. She’s never done anything she didn't want to do. Nobody Loves You More isn't a manifesto of independence; it’s just a scrapbook that she finally decided to show the world.
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It’s also surprisingly cinematic. Tracks like the title opener use brass and strings in a way that feels like a Bond theme directed by Wes Anderson. It’s sophisticated, which isn't a word usually tossed at grunge icons, but it fits.
How to Listen to the Record
If you're just diving in, don't expect a "Cannonball" 2.0. That’s not what this is.
Start with "Coast" if you want that classic Deal melody. Move to "Disobedience" if you miss the grit. But save "Are You Mine?" for when you can actually sit still and listen. It’s the kind of song that makes the hair on your arms stand up.
Actionable Next Steps for Fans
- Check the Credits: Look for the contributions from members of Savages (Fay Milton and Ayse Hassan) and Teenage Fanclub (Raymond McGinley). It’s a masterclass in collaboration.
- Track the 7-Inch Series: If you can find the original 2013 vinyl releases, compare them to the album versions. The evolution from lo-fi basement demo to polished studio track is a great lesson in production.
- Watch the Visuals: Richard Ayoade directed the video for "Big Ben Beat," and Alex Da Corte handled the album art. The imagery of Kim floating in the water is a direct homage to performance artist Bas Jan Ader, who disappeared at sea in 1975. It adds a whole other layer of meaning to the "doomed voyage" theme.
Kim Deal didn't need a solo album to prove she was a genius. We already knew that. But Nobody Loves You More gives us a seat at her table, green sweater and all, and reminds us why she’s still one of the most essential voices in music. It was worth the thirteen-year wait.
Next Steps for You
- Listen to the full album on high-quality headphones to catch the subtle room noise and Albini’s signature drum engineering.
- Explore the "Solo Series" 45s on secondary markets or streaming to hear the raw, unpolished origins of these songs.
- Read up on Bas Jan Ader, the artist who inspired the album cover, to understand Kim's fascination with the concept of "searching for the miraculous" through failure.