A warning (of sorts): Mountain Battles (4AD, Apr.8) sounds like it came from the clouded minds of exalted 40-something indie-frumps who were hotboxing a 1982 Datsun in a Dayton, Ohio, parking lot. Which is only to say The Breeders' latest album is a little bit odd, and a little bit giddy—but it's also pleasantly inspired.

Coming off of the very successful (and far too lengthy) Pixies reunion tour, Breeders leader Kim Deal has reconvened the band to produce their fourth album—their first in six years (the better-than-remembered Title TK), and their second in 15 (the era-defining Last Splash). By the time we see the fifth, we'll undoubtedly be living in a world with a stable, democratic Middle East, and without polar icecaps.

Deal spent much of the Pixies tour reminding everybody how nonchalantly cool she can be as she played bass while smoking cigarettes by the side of the stage, occasionally wandering up to the microphone and releasing her husky, comfortably worn voice. With so much general goodwill built up around her, this is the time when albums start getting called A Return To Form, but Mountain Battles is too weird, too lively, and too evasive to get sculpted by the critics and be caught on a pedestal.

From the surprisingly Who's Next-like opener "Overglazed," through the distorted electronic drums of "Bang On," and the minimalist sketch of "Night of Joy," it's all slightly off kilter. It isn't until the gorgeous "We're Gonna Rise," that a hint of classic Breeders starts to arise. The band will occasionally toss some traditional pop in ("Walk It Off," "It's the Love," the lo-fi country of "Here No More"), but the majority of the record is given over to their experimental side. There's the baby-German punk march of "German Studies," the broken jump-rope chants of "Istanbul," and the Spanish serenade of "Regalame Esta Noche." Not to mention the bizarre title track that sounds like Scott Walker found a keyboard and is wandering around in the dark, smashing into walls, looking for a melody. It's not exactly ABBA's Greatest Hits.

The Breeders haven't made another Pod or Last Splash (which were, frankly, two of the best albums of the '90s). But for those wishing to discover a new Breeders that exists solely on their own terms, Mountain Battles is a small, strangely shaped gem.