# Last Splash

Professional ratings :
| Aggregate scores ||
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 86/100 |
| Review scores ||
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic | |
| Blender | |
| Chicago Tribune | |
| Entertainment Weekly | A− |
| NME | 6/10 |
| Pitchfork | 9.0/10 |
| Rolling Stone | |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | |
| Spin | 9/10 |
| The Village Voice | A− |
Last Splash is the second album by American alternative rock band the Breeders, released on August 30, 1993. Originally formed as a side project for Pixies bassist Kim Deal, the Breeders quickly became her primary recording outlet. Last Splash peaked at number 33 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, and by June 1994, the album had been certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipments in excess of one million units.
The title of the album is taken from a lyric from its lead single, "Cannonball". The video for "Cannonball" was directed by Spike Jonze and Kim Gordon, and the video for the album's second single "Divine Hammer" was directed by Jonze, Gordon and Richard Kern.
A looped guitar sample of "S.O.S." was used by the English electronic music band the Prodigy in their 1996 hit single "Firestarter". A sample from "I Just Wanna Get Along" was used in another track by the Prodigy called "World's on Fire" from the Invaders Must Die album.
In 2003, Pitchfork listed the album at number 64 on their list of the Top 100 Albums of the 1990s. In 2020, Rolling Stone ranked the album number 293 in their revised list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time (after not including it in the original 2003 list or the 2012 revision).
On May 13, 2013, 4AD released LSXX, a deluxe 20th anniversary version of the album, and on September 22, 2023, 4AD released Last Splash (30th Anniversary Original Analog Edition), with additional tracks "Go Man Go" and "Divine Mascis".

## Composition

Last Splash has been seen as one of alternative rock's "most enduring masterpieces", as well as indie rock, noise pop and "effervescent" pop rock.
It is also considered "wildly", "willingly" experimental, sporting art rock textures, "pure", "twisted" pop, and Hawaiian surf music. The latter genre is seen in the "tiki bar twang" of "No Aloha" and the "gonzo" surf rock of instrumental "Flipside". "I Just Wanna Get Along" takes on "spiky" pop-punk, while cover "Drivin' on 9" pulls in acoustic and country sounds.

## Legacy and impact

Last Splash is regarded as one of the most iconic albums in early '90s alternative rock. Dubbed one of its "most enduring masterpieces", it's been praised for "perfectly encapsulat[ing] all that was great and wonderful" about the genre's explosion in that era. Nashville Scene's Sean L. Maloney saw Splash both "[distill] the zeitgeist into perfect alt-pop nuggets", but also serve as "the last gasp of alternative music as an actual alternative to the mainstream". The Quietus' Emily Mackay considered it "a key album" for the genre's mainstream crossover.
In a retrospective review of it 20 years on, Stereogum's Tom Breihan called it "a warm, homemade, deeply and consciously odd" record.

### Accolades

Critical rankings for Last Splash :
| Publication | Country | Type | List | Year | Rank |
| Pitchfork | United States | Decade-end | Top 100 Favorite Records of the 1990s | 2003 | 64 |
| Slant Magazine | United States | Decade-end | The 50 Best Rock Albums of the '90s | 2021 | 46 |
| Spin | United States | Decade-end | The 90 Greatest Albums Of The '90s | 2021 | 39 |
| Treble | United States | Decade-end | 91 Essential Alternative Rock Albums of the '90s | 2023 | -- |
| Stylus Magazine | United States | All-time | Top 101-200 Albums of All time | 2004 | 162 |
| Rolling Stone | United States | All-time | Women Who Rock: The 50 Greatest Albums of All Time | 2012 | 49 |
| Rolling Stone | United States | All-time | The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time | 2020 | 293 |
| NME | United Kingdom | All-time | The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time | 2013 | 200 |
| NPR Music | United States | All-time | The 150 Greatest Albums Made By Women | 2017 | 144 |
| Paste | United States | All-time | The 300 Greatest Albums of All Time | 2024 | 122 |
| "--" indicates an unordered list. |||||||

## Track listing
### Original 1993 release

All tracks are written by Kim Deal, except where noted.

### LSXX track listing

There are two versions of LSXX: a 3-CD package and a 7-disc vinyl set. The CD and vinyl formats have the same track listings.
The vinyl set contains the following vinyl:
* Last Splash
* "The Stockholm Syndrome" (partially previously released as Live in Stockholm 1994)
* Demos, rare tracks & session versions
* Safari EP
* Cannonball EP
* Divine Hammer
* Head to Toe EP
The track listing below is for the 3-CD set. All songs are by Kim Deal except where noted.
Disc 1 – Last Splash
    The first disc contains the original release track listing.

## Personnel

The Breeders
* Kim Deal – lead vocals, guitar, Moog, Casiotone
* Kelley Deal – guitar, Kenmore 12-stitch, lap steel, mandolin, vocals, lead vocals on "I Just Wanna Get Along"
* Jim MacPherson – drums, bass on "Roi"
* Josephine Wiggs – bass guitar, double bass, vocals, cello, drums on "Roi"
* Tanya Donelly – vocals and guitar on Safari EP tracks
Artwork
* Jason Love – photography
* Paul MoMenamin – design assistant
* Vaughan Oliver – art direction, design
* Kevin Westenberg – portraits
Additional musicians
* Carrie Bradley – violin, additional vocals
Production
* Kim Deal – producer
* Mark Freegard – production, engineering
* Sean Leonard – assistant engineering
* Daniel Presley – engineering on "Divine Hammer"
* Andy Taub – assistant engineering