Souvlaki (studio album)
by Slowdive

From SomethingSpecial 07/01/2025 12:23

Perfect bliss

I love slowdive

Don't really get all the hype about this album. I guess it's just not my type of music. There is some good stuff in here though. Machine Gun and When the Sun Hits are good but wouldn't go out of my way to listen to them again.

Absolutely amazing from start to finish, it does what shoegaze / dream pop should - takes you to the other world where you can forget all your problems. We start with dreamy, romantic tracks - Alison and Machine Gun - songs that are the meaning of a word soothing, the latter especially reminds me of Cocteau Twins but with much darker yet heavenly tone. 40 Days follows these songs in a great way by bringing heavier sound while keeping the same heavenly atmosphere. Sing is maybe a slow burner, but after a couple listens you can see how wonderfully it progresses through the whole song. Here She Comes is a nice quiet moment before the storm named Souvlaki Space Station probably the shoegaziest track on this album, heavy as something that mbv could've done, but definitely with a Slowdive emotional touch. And here comes umbelievably emotionally and sound heavy masterpiece - When The Sun Hits, it builds up so amazingly that when the chorus comes you feel like being washed over by the wave of sound which brings you to a better place. Altogether is another amazing track followed by slightly less impressing Melon Yellow, but album is ended masterfully with acoustic Dagger which leaves you warm and hopeful. Overall this album is not only the best shoegaze realease ever, but also a whole experience.

They remind me Russian band of 80’s Kino (Кино)

A great album that demonstrates the quality of the group but there is definitely better shoegaze albums out there. To start with the positives, I am a huge fan of the male and female vocal with both of them giving a brilliant performance across the whole release. The atmosphere the group creates is rich and beautiful at times as well with the best example of this coming on When The Sun Hits which is also the best song on this release. They are also consistent with their style which makes this a cohesive and fulfilling record to listen to. However, some tracks do lack the quality that the better songs on here have and I do find myself losing interest in the music quite a bit. I don't find myself getting lost in the music either which I typically do on the better shoegaze releases. Overall, this is a thoroughly enjoyable album with some of the groups best ever tracks but it is over rated.

Alright

Beautiful and complex. I love the parallels of two guitars playing off each other and the two vocalists doing the same. A smartly composed record.

From MadhattanJack 06/28/2022 19:28

To me, this is one of the five or ten greatest albums ever made, irrespective of genre. Production, performances, track sequencing, everything is essentially perfect. If you turn the volume up loud enough, the sheer power of tracks like "Souvlaki Space Station" and "When the Sun Hits" is practically transcendent.

It's so well done, I actually like the album less when they tack on that cover of "Some Velvet Morning" at the end as a bonus track.

From Jboy56 04/18/2022 07:11

A great dream pop for early Sunday morning moods and dreams about a better world.