Pacer is the only album by the Amps, led by Kim Deal. It was released in October 1995. The album was recorded as a side project to Kim Deal's group the Breeders. She recruited new musicians and naming the group the Amps, recorded Pacer at several studios in the US and Ireland, with different engineers, including Steve Albini, Bryce Goggin, and John Agnello.
The album received mixed reviews. Despite radio airplay for its single, "Tipp City", Pacer did not sell well. The Amps toured in 1995 and 1996 with 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. 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. 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-McCain Studios in Memphis, Tennessee. 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".
Recording
thumb|[[John Agnello was one of several engineers who helped to record Pacer.]]Pacer was recorded at seven studios in total, The track "Tipp City" was used from the original session at Easley-McCain Studios, recorded in February 1995 and engineered by Doug Easley and Davis McCain.|group=n 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 "Hoverin"; 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.
Release
Pacer was released in late October 1995. It was promoted with a full-page advertisement in NME in the UK, where it peaked at No. 60 on the UK Albums 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". and reached No. 61 on the UK Singles Chart, The album became prominent in second-hand shops.
| rev3 = NME
| rev3Score = 7/10
| rev4 = Pitchfork
| rev4Score = 8.2/10
| rev6 = Spin (1996)
| rev6Score = 7/10
| rev7 = Spin (2008)
| rev7Score =
| rev8 = The Village Voice
| rev8Score = B+
Critical appraisal of Pacer has been mixed. Reviewing for AllMusic, Stephen Thomas Erlewine describes the album as "exciting, gut-level rock & roll". The New Rolling Stone Album Guide similarly praises the title song while dismissing the rest of the album as "forgettable". In the first ever Pitchfork review, Ryan Schreiber found the album's lo-fi sound initially off-putting but praised the lyrics and "awesome rock". In 2003, Chris Ott of Pitchfork included the album in a list of "The 20 Worst Post-Breakup Debacles", arguing that the Amps were "an interim project" whose album should not have been released; "clamoring for pennies still falling from a sky 'Cannonball' had blown open, their sloppily assembled, barely written album was a mistake."
Aftermath
thumb|right|Kim Deal playing guitar with the Amps in 1995 The Amps toured in 1995 and 1996, supporting Guided by Voices, Sonic Youth, Helium, and Foo Fighters. and Kaboodle. On Gigantic: A Tribute to Kim Deal, released on American Laundromat 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 (2002) and over the years have sometimes performed Amps' songs at their concerts.
Track listing
| length3 = 2:28
| title4 = Mom's Drunk| length4 = 1:42
| title5 = Bragging Party| length5 = 4:32
| title6 = Hoverin | length6 = 2:46
| title7 = First Revival | length7 = 2:53
| title8 = Full on Idle | length8 = 2:18
| title9 = Breaking the Split Screen Barrier | length9 = 3:07
| title10 = Empty Glasses| length10 = 2:39
| title11 = She's a Girl | length11 = 1:50
| title12 = Dedicated| length12 = 4:12
Chart positions
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!Chart (1995)
!Peak<br />position
|-
|UK Album Chart
| style="text-align:center;"| 60