text: pacer ( album ) pacer is an album released in october 1995 by the amps , kim deal 's side project from her group the breeders , who took a break from playing together beginning in late 1994 . deal recruited two new musicians and named the group the amps . the band recorded pacer at several studios in the usa and in ireland , with different engineers each time , including steve albini , bryce goggin , and john agnello . the album received mixed reviews , ranging from highly enthusiastic to quite dismissive . despite radio airplay for its single , " tipp city " , pacer did not sell well . the amps toured in 1995 and 1996 with groups such as sonic youth , guided by voices , and foo fighters . in 1996 , deal changed the band 's name back to the breeders , making pacer the amps ' only album . background kim deal 's band the breeders released last splash in august 1993 ; the album was very successful , and its release was followed by much touring . the breeders then took an extended break from activity . one reason was that deal 's sister kelley , who was also in the group , was arrested on drug charges in november 1994 . member josephine wiggs likewise took time away from the band , although wiggs and deal have different memories of the circumstances surrounding this . wiggs recalls offering to be involved if deal 's next album was going to be a breeders record , but having the impression that deal wanted to do a solo release ; deal remembers wiggs declining to be part of any immediate breeders ' recording , but offering to be on the one after that . regardless of the causes of the breeders ' hiatus , by early 1995 deal believed her next album would be a solo one , and at first intended to play all instruments on it herself . back at her home in dayton , ohio , she practiced the drums and initially prepared six songs for recording . around the same time , she produced some tracks for guided by voices at easley studios in memphis , tennessee . while there , deal used a portion of the studio time to record demos for some of her new songs . as an attempt to distract her sister from her drug problems , deal recruited kelley to play on three songs at this initial recording session . kelley 's involvement changed deal 's mind about playing all the instruments herself , and she began to conceptualize the album as a band project . after the easley recording session , deal returned to dayton . she asked breeders ' drummer jim macpherson to play drums in the new project , and dayton musicians luis lerma and nate farley to play bass and guitar , respectively . deal adopted a stage persona for herself named tammy ampersand , and called the band " tammy and the amps " ; this later evolved into simply " the amps " . the group began by performing at small shows , and learned the songs well to prepare for recording the album . at some point during the recording sessions , kelley 's drug difficulties and rehabilitation prevented her from continuing as a member of the band . recording pacer was recorded at seven studios in total , with different engineers each time . the track " tipp city " was used from the original session at easley studios , recorded in february 1995 and engineered by doug easley and davis mccain . the amps ' next session was with engineer steve albini at his chicago studio . deal had previously worked with albini on the pixies ' surfer rosa and the breeders ' pod releases . the amps and albini recorded songs including further versions of " tipp city " , which are unreleased , and " " ; an earlier version of the latter song had previously been released on the breeders ' " divine hammer " single in october 1993 . other recording sessions , whose various engineers included bryce goggin and john agnello , took place at studios in long island and woodstock , new york , as well as dayton , los angeles , and dublin , ireland . in a 1996 interview , deal said that for pacer , she focused on the vocals : " usually , i tend to spend more time with the instruments . last splash had quite a few instrumentals and quite a few songs where i might say five words . [ on pacer , the ] songs are all vocal - heavy . the vocal leads , and if you take the vocal away , you don 't have much of a song . " the sound of the album has been described as " lo - fi " . release pacer was released in late october 1995 . it peaked at no. 60 on the uk album chart , and no. 29 on the american heatseekers album chart . " tipp city " was released as the album 's single and included an alternate version of " empty glasses " , as well as a cover of the tasties ' " just like a briar " . the single received some radio airplay in the usa , and reached no. 61 on the uk singles chart , but pacer did not sell well . reception critical appraisal of pacer has been mixed . allmusic 's stephen thomas erlewine describes the album as " exciting , gut - level rock & roll " . the rough guide to rock calls pacer " satisfyingly lo - fi " . in spin magazine , reviewer joy press writes that the album includes " a half - dozen gems " but that its overall " foggy sound " and " indecipherable lyrics " prevent the listener from fully embracing the work . robert christgau considers the album 's songs to be " definitely slight " and " uneven " but praises the vocals , stating that " speedy or dreamy , kim deal sounds so sane , so unpretentious , so goddamn nice that you want to take her home and give her a shampoo " . in the trouser press guide to ' 90s rock , critic ira robbins writes that " other than the fine title track and a few others , the performances are forced and lackluster ; the production varies between flat and colorless . " the new rolling stone album guide similarly praises the title song while dismissing the rest of the album as " forgettable " . aftermath the amps toured in 1995 and 1996 , with bands including guided by voices , sonic youth , brainiac , the tasties , helium , and foo fighters . later in 1996 , the group added member carrie bradley ( who had played on pod ) , and deal changed its name back to the breeders . the band 's lineup continued to evolve , and within a few years , deal was the only of the former amps left in the group . pacer is the sole album that the amps released . a number of artists have covered songs from pacer . the muffs included a version of " pacer " on their compilation albums hamburger and . on gigantic : a tribute to kim deal , released on american records , the german art students covered " bragging party " and tara king theory , " tipp city " . musician girl talk included a sample of " tipp city " on " touch 2 feel " on his album unstoppable . the breeders themselves released a new version of " full on idle " on title tk and over the years have sometimes performed amps ' songs at their concerts . track listing all songs written and composed by kim deal , except where noted . chart positions