Kim Deal’s “Nobody Loves You More” is a dream (solo) debut for the iconic artist

I know people who don’t know their own asses from their own elbows who could hum you the tune to “Where Is My Mind.” I’ve got pals who couldn’t point out an oboe from a cello but they know the riff to “Cannonball” when they hear it. That’s my roundabout way of expressing the fact that Kim Deal is a legend and I could spill a thousand words on her contributions to music throughout the years as a member of the Pixies and the Breeders, both institutions in the indie/alternative/ world, but also groups that managed to cross over into the vaunted mainstream.

Deal has been an inspiration to many for a long time, which makes it all the more exciting that, after four decades as an artist, Deal is giving us her solo debut album, Nobody Loves You More, out November 22nd on the 4AD label. Nobody Loves You More will have longtime Deal fans rapturous, but it’s by no means only for that crowd. It’s an emotional 

“Nobody Loves You More” ushers in a cinematic vibe, smooth and breezy, with a waltzy quality that sees bold orchestral strings swell and hum around Deal’s voice as it takes the forefront. There’s a mysterious quality about the track, a certain longing and desire for Deal’s voice that you can instantly tell is deep; it makes things feel personal right away. “Summerland”, from the back half of the record, contains a similarly lush, cinematic atmosphere.

 “Coast” is a buoyant, feel-good stomper with funny, tongue-in-cheek lyricism from Deal that adds to the operatic feel that bubbles up early on in the record. It’s got Camera Obscura/Belle and Sebastian vibes, with trumpets and trombones punching and stabbing as Deal sings about “Two beautiful kids on the coast”. It’s got a reflective nature, but the forward propulsion of the track gives it a warm feel as well and, like a lot of the songs on Nobody Loves You More, it deftly walks that line between intensely emotional, funny, and cathartic.

Things take a slight detour on “Crystal Breath”, which is a straight-up electronic banger that would get things going at any club. Straight-up Berlin vibes, grimy with a drony synth line. Alan Vega would be proud. Deal’s voice switches up a bit on this one as well, taking on a Roisin Murphy-esque quality that pairs well with the different musical moods.

There are some really nice guitar licks on the track too, and they add just enough spice without attracting unwanted attention. It’s a great, pumping, buzzy club tune with a big-time feel that offers a different feel than the first couple of tracks. “Are You Mine?” immediately comes across as a love song, but it maintains that sense of longing and duality between certainty and uncertainty that Deal taps into throughout the record. It sounds a bit like a Western lullaby; there’s a wistful, dreamy feel that the song invokes. “Let me go where there’s no memory of you/ Where everything is new/And nothing is true” sings Deal. There’s a sense of contradiction in the lyrics, but love never ties up neatly and is often a messy affair. Any time of love; romantic, familial.

It’s never one clean, easy thing, and Deal expresses that notion throughout the record. “A Good Time Pushed” is a fantastic album closer, and is perhaps the track on the record closest to something that would be found on a Breeder’s record. “Now’s the time for me to get what I want” Deal gently sings. You know what I want? To go listen to the record again. It’s a smash.