Slowdive – 7th Level Music

Rewind Review: Slowdive – Pygmalion (2011 reissue)

This might be one of the most divisive albums ever made.

It’s rare that you find someone like yours truly who thinks Slowdive‘s 1995 album Pygmalion is “Okay.” People seem to either love it or hate it. The lovers contend that it’s an ambient dream music masterpiece and the haters think it’s an atmospheric Neil Halstead vanity project that barely qualifies as music.

The first thing that strikes you is that there’s almost no percussion on this album. Drummer Simon Scott had left the band, and was replaced by Ian McCutcheon…who doesn’t have that much to do apart from making background noises. Don’t expect massive drum fills, cymbal crashes, or rock beats on this album. They’re not here. Acid jazz beats are, albeit quiet ones.

The album opens with “Rutti,” which is over ten minutes long and I think is about death, or perhaps embracing the process of aging. I know it’s mesmerizing if you give it a chance. “Crazy for You” starts to let more sunlight through the clouds, and Slowdive fans back in the day were probably thinking, “Here come the roaring guitars!” during its first minute…but they never arrive. It’s just mantra-like guitars and vocals for almost five minutes.

“Miranda” has unintelligible vocals from Rachel Goswell, who co-wrote it with Halstead, and looping synths that border on becoming white noise. The same goes for “Trellisaze,” but the synths are replaced with guitar strums and slow, almost mechanical hand percussion.

The quick instrumental of “Cello” leads to “J’s Heaven” – a song about depression (“Why am I so low? Isn’t life cheerful?”) with Goswell’s vocals sounding like they’re coming from a haunted well. Goswell’s vocals on “Visions of LA” are clearer, and are a beautiful song to a friend she’s trying to calm as he battles with fear.

“Blue Skied an’ Clear” is the most upbeat song on the album (even with the slow, faint drums and airy guitars and vocals), as it’s about finding encouragement in life when a lover tells you, and means it, that everything will be okay. “All of Us” seems to be about aging, and the realization that it comes to all of us at some point.

This isn’t an album you crank on your hi-fi. I wouldn’t listen to it while driving, as it might make you fall asleep some late night behind the wheel. It’s a classic “headphones record” that is best for times when you just need to lie back and look at the sky while everything races past you.

Keep your mind open.

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Rewind Review: Slowdive – Souvlaki (2011 reissue)

Slowdive‘s second album, Souvlaki (originally released in 1993), didn’t make much of a splash at first, but everyone pretty much now agrees that it was, and still is, a shoegaze classic.

“Alison” starts off the album in one of the best ways you can start a shoegaze record – with a song about a pretty girl and getting high. You’d think a song called “Machine Gun” would roll out the heavy walls of guitar feedback, but instead they up the hypnotic synths and let Rachel Goswell‘s morning mist vocals about succumbing to a flood come to the front.

It’s no secret that Goswell and Neil Halstead broke up not long before the band started the writing sessions for this album, and Halstead’s heartbreak is all over the album in his vocals, lyrics, and guitar work. He wrote “40 Days” while on a two-week break in Wales to come to terms with it. The song is a bit loose and jangly with Simon Scott‘s drums doing a little shuffle here and there.

“Sing” and “Here She Comes” were cowritten and produced by none other than Brian Eno. The band, and especially Halstead, wanted Eno to produce the whole record, but he declined. He contributes synths to “Sing,” a song about loneliness with Goswell’s vocals making you wonder if she was reconsidering the breakup. “Here She Comes” is about the hope of finding warmth in the arms of a lover, but knowing it could be a long winter before that happens.

“Souvlaki Space Station” is more psychedelia than shoegaze, and goes to show Slowdive can pull off either genre at will. Despite being one of their biggest hits among fans, bassist Nick Chaplin and guitarist Christian Savill, didn’t think “When the Sun Hits” should be on the album. It hits all the “wall of sound” notes you want in a shoegaze track, and they’ve changed their mind on it since.

“Altogether” has Halstead watching Goswell from a distance, knowing things probably aren’t going much further between them, and the sad guitar work on it only emphasizes that belief. “Melon Yellow” continues this distancing (“So long. So long. It’s just a way to love you.”), with Halstead’s voice sounding far away and Scott’s drums almost mournful. The closing track, “Dagger,” is about, as Halstead put it, “a fucked-up relationship.” It, like many songs on the album, refer to Halstead watching Goswell as she sleeps, perhaps telling her what he couldn’t bring himself to say while she was awake and admitting “You know I am your dagger. You know I am your wound.”

It’s a heavy record, and not just from the sound. It’s gorgeous and sad, so, yeah, a shoegaze classic.

Keep your mind open.

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Rewind Review: Slowdive – Just for a Day (2011 reissue)

Slowdive were one of the best shoegaze bands to come out of the 1990s, but also one of the best-kept secrets in the genre for a while. I don’t know if I, or anyone, can explain this, because they’re widely praised among the genre’s enthusiasts and have been playing sold-out shows across the world since their comeback self-titled album released in 2017.

Just for a Day was their 1991 full-length debut, and it’s full of classic touches that make you realize how much they influenced many other bands. The opening somber notes of “Spanish Air” are as good as anything The Cure was making back then, and just as hypnotic. “Celia’s Dream” seems to be a love letter from Neil Halstead to the girl in the title as he sings about shadows drifting away from her, but also her drifting away from him.

“Catch the Breeze” was the lone single from the album, which makes sense when you consider the big, fuzzy wall of sound that hits you in the chorus. “Ballad of Sister Sue” sounds like it could’ve been recorded in an abandoned church with its echoing guitars, mysterious vocals, and distant drums. “Erik’s Song” ends side one of the album with ethereal, instrumental bliss.

Side two begins with “Waves” – a song about leaving a relationship and the freedom that can sometimes bring (“You’re knocking on the door I closed today, and everything looks brighter.”). Speaking of things being brighter, that’s the theme of, you guessed it, “Brighter” – a song about finding hope when things look dark and trusting that tomorrow can bring something better.

“The Sadman” has Rachel Goswell‘s astral plane voice telling us of a being who calls to us when our hearts are broken. Is it someone she knows? A mythical figure? A guy she met outside a gig who looked broken down but still tried to make her laugh? I don’t know, but this needs to be in a movie somewhere. The record ends with “Primal,” which might be the best pairing of Nick Chaplin (bass) and Simon Scott (drums) on the album. They snap and thump in perfect rhythm with each other and never overpower Halstead, Goswell, and Christian Savill. That’s not easy to do when those three are playing shoegaze riffs that grow and grow like a sunrise through rainclouds.

It’s a nice debut record that hinted at bigger things to come and is now considered a bit of a classic.

Keep your mind open.

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Slowdive announces fall U.S. tour.

Slowdive announce a fall North American tour in support of everything is alive, their “hypnotically gorgeous” (Vulture) album released last year via Dead Oceans. Following an appearance at Austin’s Levitation Festival, they’ll return to New York, Philadelphia, and Washington, DC, plus visit cities throughout the Southeast where the band hasn’t played in many years. On their last US runs, Slowdive routinely sold out shows, filling rooms with longtime listeners and younger fans alike. As the Chicago Tribune praised, “experimental and shimmery, [everything is alive] packs a lush and enigmatic punch. Don’t take their latest releases and live shows for granted.” Tickets for all shows will be on sale this Friday at 10am local time and a full list of dates can be found below.

Slowdive Tour Dates
(New Dates in Bold)
Sat. Nov. 2 – Mexico City, MX @ Hipnosis Festival
Sun. Nov. 3 – Austin, TX @ The Far Out Lounge (Levitation Festival)
Wed. Nov. 6 – Queretaro, MX @ Cerveceria Hercules
Fri. Nov. 8 – Guadalajara, MX @ C4 Concert House
Sun. Nov. 10 – St. Augustine, FL @ St Augustine Amphitheatre
Mon. Nov. 11 – Charleston, SC @ The Refinery
Tue. Nov. 12 – Raleigh, NC @ The Ritz
Thu. Nov. 14 – Richmond, VA @ The National
Fri. Nov. 15 – Philadelphia, PA @ Franklin Music Hall
Sun. Nov. 17 – Washington, DC @ The Anthem
Mon. Nov. 18 -Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Paramount
Thu. Nov 21 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Stage AE
Fri. Nov. 22 – Columbus, OH @ KEMBA Live! Indoor Stage
Sat. Nov. 23 – Detroit, MI @ Royal Oak Music Theatre

Purchase everything is alive
Watch “alife” video
Watch “kisses” Video
Watch “skin in the game” Visualizer
Watch “the slab” Video

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Jaycee at Pitch Perfect PR.]

Slowdive announces 2024 North American tour.

Earlier this year, Slowdive released everything is alive, their first record since 2017’s self-titled album and first record with Dead Oceans. The record was met with critical and commercial acclaim, garnering praise from the likes of Vulture (“hypnotically gorgeous”), Billboard (“a dreamy yet taut melding of their strengths”), Brooklyn Vegan (“perhaps the best record of their career”), and more. On the heels of their sold-out fall U.S. tour, Slowdive have announced they’ll be returning to the US for a spring North American tour next year. Including the already sold out Sick New World festival in Las Vegas, they’ll play many cities not yet played in support of everything is alive: Atlanta, Dallas, Denver, New Orleans, and more.

As the Chicago Tribune commented, “Experimental and shimmery, [everything is alive] packs a lush and enigmatic punch. Don’t take their latest releases and live shows for granted. Who knows when this influential band will be back in town?” Tickets for all shows will be on sale Friday, December 8th at 10AM local time and more information can be found here.

Slowdive Tour Dates
(new dates in bold)

Tue. Jan. 16 – Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso
Wed. Jan. 17 – Paris, FR @ La Cigale
Thu. Jan. 18 – Cologne, DE @ Live Music Hall
Sat. Jan. 20 – Hamburg, DE @ Grosse Freiheit 36
Sun. Jan. 21 – Copenhagen, DK @ VEGA
Mon. Jan. 22 – Oslo, NO @ Sentrum Scene
Tue. Jan. 23 – Stockholm, SE @ Munchenbryggeriet
Wed. Jan. 24 – Copenhagen, DK @ VEGA
Thu. Jan. 25 – Berlin, DE @ Columbiahalle
Sat. Jan. 27 – Warsaw, PL @ Progresja
Sun. Jan. 28 – Prague, CZ @ Divaldo Archa
Mon. Jan. 29 – Munich, DE @ Muffathalle
Tue. Jan. 30 – Zurich, CH @ Volkshaus
Wed. Jan. 31 – Milan, IT @ Alcatraz Club
Fri. Feb. 2 – Bologna, IT @ Estragon Club
Sun. Feb. 4 – Lyon, FR @ La Transbordeur
Mon. Feb. 5 – Barcelona, ES @ Razzmatazz
Tue. Feb. 6 – Madrid, ES @ La Riviera
Thu. Feb. 8 – Brussels, BE @ Cirque Royale
Fri. Feb. 16 – Brighton, UK @ Brighton Dome
Sat. Feb. 17 – London, UK @ Eventim Apollo
Sun. Feb. 18 – Birmingham, UK @ O2 Institute Birmingham
Mon. Feb. 19 – Norwich, UK @ LCR UEA
Wed. Feb. 21 – Liverpool, UK @ O2 Academy Liverpool
Thu. Feb. 22 – Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, UK @ NX
Fri. Feb. 23 – Glasgow, UK @ Barrowland Ballroom
Sat. Feb. 24 – Edinburgh, UK @ Liquid Room
Mon. Feb. 26 – Cardiff, UK @ Cardiff University Great Hall
Tue. Feb. 27 – Manchester, UK @ Manchester Academy
Mon. Mar. 11 – Tokyo, JP @ Toyosu Pit
Wed. Mar. 13 – Osaka, JP @ Namba Hatch
Thu. Apr. 25 – Ventura, CA @ The Majestic Ventura Theater
Fri. Apr. 26 – Pomona,CA @ The Fox Theater Pomona
Sat. Apr. 27 – Las Vegas, NV @ Sick New World Festival
Sun. Apr. 28 – Phoenix, AZ @ The Van Buren
Tue. Apr. 30 – Albuquerque, NM @ The Historic El Rey Theater
Wed. May 1 – Denver, CO @ Levitt Pavilion Denver
Fri. May 3 – Kansas City, MO @ The Truman
Sat. May 4 – St. Louis, MO @ The Pageant
Sun. May 5 – Indianapolis, IN @ Egyptian Room at Old National Centre
Tue. May 7 – Louisville, KY @ Old Forester’s Paristown Hall
Wed. May 8 – Pelham, TN @ The Caverns
Fri. May 10 – Dallas, TX @ Longhorn Ballroom
Sat. May 11 – Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall
Sun. May 12 – Austin, TX @ ACL Live at The Moody Theater
Tue. May 14 – New Orleans, LA @ The Civic Theatre
Thu. May 16 – Birmingham, AL @ Avondale Brewing Company
Fri. May 17 – Atlanta, GA @ The Eastern
Sun. May 18 – Asheville, NC @ Rabbit Rabbit

Purchase everything is alive
Watch “alife” Video
Watch “kisses” Video
Watch “skin in the game” Visualizer
Watch “the slab” Video

Keep your mind open.

[Don’t forget to subscribe before you go.]

[Thanks to Jaycee at Pitch Perfect PR.]

Review: Slowdive – everything is alive

Shoegaze legends Slowdive decided they wanted to scale back the electronics and push more of the reverb-heavy guitars on their newest album, everything is alive. It’s a powerful decision, one made as two members of the band were grieving the loss of a parent in 2020 and trying to make sense of a world that pretty much went crazy for about two years. The album’s cover, depicting a shrouded woman in the middle of a labyrinth, captures everyone’s feelings during those years – but it also shows a way out of the maze. There was hope back then and even now.

The album starts, oddly enough, with some of the electronic beats that singer and guitarist Neil Halstead originally wanted to scale back on “shanty,” and you’re thinking, “Wait, is this going to be an electro record?” Then, the crunchy, roaring guitars step into the room and take over the whole space. “prayer remembered” is the kind of beautiful, floating track that Slowdive pull off seemingly without effort. It’s perfect for lonely drives, morning walks, lonely moments in your living room, still silences in the kitchen when you feel a ghost behind you…

Rachel Goswell‘s vocal sounds start “alife” with spooky atmospherics and then become bright and lovely during the chorus (as do the guitars from her and Halstead). “andalusia plays” ups the acoustic guitar and lets Nick Chaplin‘s bass simmer under Halstead’s vocals and lyrics about a memorable winter night. “kisses” blends shoegaze with synthwave to create a radio-friendly future hit.

“skin in the game” ups the vocal echo effects and the guitar reverb, resulting in an ethereal track that will make you drift out of your skin and up to the ceiling. “chained to a cloud” is aptly named, as the mostly instrumental track makes you feel like you’re drifting across the sky and seeing the landscape below you change as the world revolves and the sun cuts through the cloud to which you’re attached. Closing with the uplifting track entitled “the slab,” Slowdive take a phrase / object often associated with death (i.e., a body on a slab in a morgue) and make it something from which we can all rise – the slab of a bed tangled in sheets from unrestful sleep, the slab of a work desk, the slab of gray pavement during our work commute – we can rise from them and above them and remember that everything is alive. We are alive. We are part of everything, and that life, the life of the universe, really, is not only in us, but is created by us.

Thanks, Slowdive, for reminding us of this.

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Jacob at Pitch Perfect PR.]

Top 40 albums of 2016 – 2020: #’s 25 – 21

This latest batch of my top albums of the last five years includes a lot of excellent shoegaze and psych-rock. Which made the cut? Read on…

#25: Slowdive – (self-titled) (2017)

Slowdive returned with this gorgeous shoegaze record sounding like they never took a twenty-two-year pause. It’s lush, luxurious, and sometimes loud, and it reminded everyone how much they missed the band and how much everyone needed a warm hug.

#24: Moon Duo – Stars Are the Light (2019)

The cover of Stars Are the Light sums up the album pretty well – psychedelic disco from another planet. It was a welcome return for Moon Duo and a bit of a surprise direction for them, but one much needed and appreciated as we were about to get walloped with a pandemic. This record would become a respite from COVID blues whenever you needed it.

#23: A Place to Bury Strangers – Pinned (2018)

Pinned is the first APTBS album featuring Lia Braswell on drums and backing (and sometimes lead) vocals, and the energy she brings to the band is palpable from the outset. The band somehow gains even more power than they had before and takes on a new sound that bodes well for future endeavors.

#22: Frankie and the Witch Fingers – Monsters Eating People Eating Monsters… (2020)

This double album is chock full of epic riffs, psychedelic freak-outs, and jaw-dropping grooves. It sounds like they went into the studio and unloaded every frustration and desire they’ve had since 2016. It blends Stooges‘ power with Zappa jams, Thin Lizzy funk, and Oh Sees trips.

#21: Here Lies Man – You Will Know Nothing (2018)

I discovered Here Lies Man with this album after their label sent it to me with the question, “What if Black Sabbath played Afrobeat?” You have my attention. HLM‘s second record knocked me out of my shoes, and I immediately began telling everyone about them. The Afrobeat rhythms combined with fuzzy bass, synths, and guitars were intoxicating and thrilling. Add to that the band’s philosophy that every album is meant to be thought of as a film / story, and it’s a film you’ll want on 4K Blu-Ray to play through your giant home entertainment system to the annoyance (or love) of your neighbors.

As we reach the top 20 albums of the last five years, we’ll see more shoegaze and psychedelia and the return of a legend.

Keep your mind open.

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Top 30 Concerts of 2018: #’s 10 – 6

We’ve arrived at the top 10 shows I saw in 2018! Let’s get to it!

#10: All Them Witches at Nashville’s Exit / In – I don’t have a full review of this show up because it happened so late in the year (December 29th – my birthday and the birthday of ATW‘s bassist / singer Michael Parks, Jr.). I also have no photographs from it because my phone was undergoing repairs at the time. I can assure you, however, that it was a loud, powerful show. Parks did a solo set of “sad stuff” to start off the show, and the rest of it was them burning off energy like they needed to sleep well that night.

#9: Public Image Ltd. at Chicago’s Thalia Hall – I had waited (though not by choice) for thirty years to see PiL. It was worth the wait and the short night of sleep before work afterwards. I got chills during “Rise” and was happy to finally see John Lydon live.

#8: My Bloody Valentine at Chicago’s Riviera Theatre – This was, without question, the loudest show I attended all year. It was like a crushing wave that almost never ceased. Friends of mine left early from the intensity of it. My arms were trembling by the end of their set. One guy behind me on the way out told his friend he thought he was going to die during one point of the show. It was a wild experience to say the least.

#7: Slowdive at Levitation Austin – I’d heard nothing but good things about these shoegaze legends and their live shows. They didn’t disappoint. It was a beautiful set with a psychedelic light show under a warm Texas sky. I saw fans in Slowdive shirts leaving early, however, which boggles my mind. It was one of the best sets of the festival.

#6: The Flaming Lips at Fort Wayne’s Clyde Theatre – Shame on you if you live within a couple hours driving time of Fort Wayne, Indiana and you missed this show. There was plenty of room in the theatre for you, but thanks for leaving the room for us and the Flaming Lips. They provided one of the happiest shows my wife and I saw all year in an intimate venue.

The top five are coming up tomorrow. Come back to see who topped the list!

Keep your mind open.

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Levitation Music Festival Recap: Day Three – Shoegaze, synths, and psychedelia

The third day of Austin’s Levitation Music Festival was off to a good start when we bumped into Rishi Dhir of Elephant Stone and MIEN at a vegetarian breakfast cafe and then the Men at the same place. Mr. Dhir remembered seeing us at a small show in Pittsburgh and told us he and the other chaps in MIEN were a bit nervous about performing their first live show at Stubb’s BBQ that night. We told him we were sure they’d rock it. I also told Nick from the Men that they reminded me of the MC5, and he was a bit blown away by the compliment.

MIEN did indeed rock their first live show. We heard their soundcheck while dining at Stubb’s (Where, by the way, the best deal is the all-you-can-eat menu.) and we again saw Mr. Dhir not long before their set. We told him they sounded great, and they did during the full set. They played nearly their entire debut album and their nervous energy only seemed to benefit the set.

Local synth heroes (and Stranger Things score creators) SURVIVE were up next and put on a deep, creepy set that was longer than they expected. They kept thinking they were out of time, but they still had enough to play three more songs before they really were done. It was funny to see them look offstage and ask, learn they had plenty more time, and then grin as they tried to figure out what to play next.

Finishing up the night at Stubb’s were shoegaze legends Slowdive. I was late to their party, but got on board with their self-titled return album after nearly twenty years of no new music. There was a good-sized crowd there by this point and people went crazy for them. Many professed their love for singer / keyboardist / guitarist Rachel Goswell, who seemed humbled by all the love.

They nearly leveled the place with reverb, fuzz, and dreamy rock. My wife wasn’t sure to make of it. She later told me it nearly put her to sleep, which I suppose is one of the goals of such ethereal music.

We then moved over to the Empire Garage to hopefully catch the last half of No Joy‘s set, but alas they had finished by the time we got there. Dan Deacon already had a big crowd and was spinning up a wild dance party despite his laptop computer giving him fits and a vocal distortion pedal breaking. He had the audience building a tunnel with their arms above their heads and dance through it until his laptop computer crashed.

We left a bit early, and I later read on Twitter than Deacon smashed his laptop by the end of the show after it crashed yet again.

Up next, my wife freaks out upon seeing Joel Gion on stage, Rishi Dhir returns, and I get Red Bull dumped on me.

Keep your mind open.

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Levitation Austin artist spotlight: Slowdive

Shoegaze legends Slowdive return to Levitation Austin this year. Their live shows have been lauded ever since their reunion, and I missed them when they were at the crazy, cancelled festival in 2016. Their set will be like traveling back in time, both to the 1990’s and to just two years ago. They close Stubb’s BBQ on April 28th at 10:10pm.

Keep your mind open.

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