The Breeders @ Academy 2, Manchester, 17 Oct

"We escaped the hurricane!"

Before they've even played a note, it's an A for effort for The Breeders tonight. They valiantly ploughed across the Irish sea by ferry early yesterday in order to play their scheduled Dublin show, only to see it nixed anyway as the remnants of Hurricane Ophelia lashed the city – leaving them facing the decidedly unfavourable prospect of having to head back over for this show in Manchester, with storm conditions forecast to last well into Tuesday.

Thankfully, they picked the right moment to jump back on the boat, and made it back early this morning for their first gig in the city since they celebrated the twentieth anniversary of their seminal Last Splash up the road at the Ritz in June 2013, which – speaking of extreme weather conditions – came right in the middle of a heatwave that rendered the venue borderline unsuitable for human occupation.

There's no such concerns in terms of temperature at an admittedly packed Academy 2 tonight, and it's also worth mentioning that had they ended up stranded in Ireland, local heroes PINS could very feasibly have stepped in and headlined. They're on scintillating form on support duties, with an admirably forward-thinking set that's built around March's Bad Thing EP and their new, Jamie-Hince-of-The-Kills produced anti-austerity single Serve the Rich.

The Breeders, meanwhile, don’t have a new record to support here; that’s undoubtedly on the horizon, and is likely to turn up next year, a decade on from their last (2008’s Mountain Battles). They do include Wait in the Car, their new single and the fresh album’s prelude, at blistering volume as part of an eclectic but lovingly-crafted set tonight. It's a set that also includes clutches of hits from Pod and Title TK as well as a few covers – one of which, Drivin’ on 9 by Ed’s Redeeming Qualities, appeared on Last Splash. Guitarist Kelley Deal apologises for the lack of violin before the group launch into it, but revokes the sentiment at the track’s conclusion – “that was just as good without it.”

The show’s latter stages include furious runs through big hitters, including Do You Love Me Now? and Cannonball – “did I just play that in the wrong tuning?” asks Kelley, inaccurately, of the latter. A particular treat for the casuals, during the encore, is a take on Gigantic by Pixies, a track by lead singer Kim Deal’s old band that they don’t attempt any more now that she’s moved on to focus on this outfit full time. That can only be a good thing for tonight’s feverish crowd, though; on this evidence, even as they’re settling slowly back into the saddle, The Breeders have lost little of their daring.