A NEW BREED AFTER BATTLING HEROIN ADDICTION AND FAMILY FEUDS, KIM AND KELLEY DEAL RECONFIGURE THEIR LEGENDARY BAND FOR A NEW ALBUM AND TOUR.

Byline: Theo Douglas Staff Writer

THEIR LAST ALBUM came nine years ago -- a generation in pop years -- and it was called ``Last Splash,'' a title which seemed appropriate enough.

But now, in yet another unlikely reunion, the Breeders are back in the swim.

Reinvented and reinvigorated with a new lineup featuring two ex-members of Los Angeles punk legends Fear, the Breeders -- still fronted by hard-hitting, plain-spoken Dayton, Ohio twins Kim and Kelley Deal -- will play Sunday and Monday at the El Rey Theatre in Los Angeles.

The Breeders have a long and tangled history dating back more than 10 years to the demise of songwriter Kim Deal's other legendary band, the Pixies. A hit single, ``Cannonball,'' from ``Last Splash,'' quickly made the Breeders into college radio darlings. They followed ``Last Splash'' with a vinyl EP, ``Head to Toe,'' in 1994, and then that was it for the '90s.

Both Kim, the younger, songwriting twin, and her elder-by-11-minutes sister, guitarist, bassist and singer Kelley Deal, battled drug addictions for several years before getting cleaned up. They also had to overcome a healthy dose of sibling rivalry before they could work together again.

Their resultant disc, ``Title TK,'' has been three years in the making, and it's a contemplative CD which sounds as if it could have been part of the rehabilitation process itself.

A revved-up Kelley Deal -- home in Ohio for the better part of a week before the band's U.S. tour starts -- says her main vices these days are soft drinks and light cigarettes, perhaps triggering the manic energy that hasn't deserted her despite a day of interviews.

Q: So, how was your recent European tour?

A: I feel like a spoiled brat when somebody says, ``How was five weeks in Europe?'' All these beautiful places. But there was no ice, no light smokes, no Mountain Dew. And the AC in the bus broke down. But after whining, the tour was great.

Q: As a Mountain Dew drinker, do you do the Dew's new red color, or do you stick to classic green?

A: I'm not even touching that (red) stuff. It's like giving a heroin addict crack. It's like, that doesn't fix me.

Q: There's an eclectic mix of sounds on the new album. Was it difficult to reproduce live?

A: Actually, it's been really easy. What we play is what we played in the studio. You'll be able to tell live, it sounds exactly the same. We recorded it analog, and there's only three places that do that in the world.

Q: Did you consciously set out to buck the digital revolution?

A: It didn't start like that. It's not like we're anti-digital. I get a lot of reports that this album sounds analog. It's because you can't hear (the computerized recording program) ProTools in my voice.

Q: Are you happier with the results of this admittedly antiquated recording method?

A: I used to get so bummed out 'cause I love country music and I used to listen to radio, and all the songs sounded like they were made with the exact same producers doing exactly the same things in the studio. I feel like that's what music sounds like now. Everything's painted with the same brush.

Q: How did the teaming with guitarist Richard Presley and bassist Mando Lopez from Fear come about?

A: Kim and I did three songs at (``Title TK'' engineer Steve) Albini's studio in 1999. Then Kim met up with Richard in March of 2000 and moved (to East Los Angeles) in June 2000. After playing with them one night, Kim was like, ``What are you doing?'' I moved there in July and we played our first live gig in December. Once you find the right people, it's just, you know.

Q: How did Presley and Lopez differ from the usual session players?

A: Usually with guitarists or drummers, you can usually always tell when the song is about their licks or their riffs and it's not about what what they're doing means to the song or to the record. (Presley and Lopez) weren't like that.

Q: How would you compare your new disc, ``Title TK,'' with ``Last Splash''?

A: If ``Last Splash'' is the party record, this is the morning-after record, feeling all these emotions like ``How much did I drink?'' ``Who did I sleep with?''

Q: Do you think that mood came about as a result of you and your sister going through drug rehabilitation?

A: That (question is) more for Kim because she wrote the songs. She's going to write about what she's feeling.

Q: The album does sound more downcast and contemplative.

A: I don't know. You know, it wasn't like, ``Let's make a real ambient, low-fi record.'' It wasn't planned. That was just the way it developed. If you could define that, you could define the whole creative process.

Q: You and your sister worked together years ago before she was ever in the Pixies. What's it like spending so much time together?

A: Well, as we say, we decided to become identical twins because we couldn't agree on things on a cellular level. We're talking 40 years (working together). It's, you know, you have sisters and brothers. Imagine them on the phone doing this interview with you and writing it and submitting it. There's going to be stuff in there you're not really going to like, but ...

THE BREEDERS

Where: El Rey Theatre, 5515 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles

When: 8 p.m. Sunday and Monday

Tickets: $16.50

Information: [phone] or www.ticketmaster.com

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Photo:

Playing peek-a-boo: Kim, partially hidden, and Kelley Deal, front, join Jose Medeles, left, Richard Presley, rear, and Mando Lopez as the lastest incarnation of the Breeders.