Slowdive
by Slowdive

From ilovelctr 06/19/2017 05:20 | #192877 | TOP COMMENT Vote up your preferred comments and the comments with the most votes will be flagged.

For a period in my life, I couldn't believe that Slowdive would reunite and ever release another album. After a 22-year-long hiatus, they prove not only that they are a staple in the shoegazing genre, but also that their ambition has peaked to an unprecedented height. In comparison to the low-profile Just for a Day and the beautiful yet depressive Souvlaki, this eponymous album witnesses their musicality unleashed in full scale.

The long intro in the opening track Slomo, whose title by the way is very self-referential in terms of its song structure and the nature of the band's soundscape, is so daring to the point that during your frist listen, it keeps you wondering when or whether the vocal is going to kick in. The gentleness is well blended into the grandiose instrumentation, creating a paradoxical sense of wonder which leaves you desiring for more. But then there comes the second track, the show-stealer Star Roving, and it gets aggressive without being too blunt. These two songs pretty much sets up the foundation of the album's strong, optimistic and brave vibe wrapped betwixt certain touching and sadness-induced downers. It's as if dozens of rays of light penetrate the dark universe to guide you on a memorable journey when you listen to these songs. When it reaches the denouement, the melancholic Falling Ashes does a great job bidding you good night in an ambient sound with its crystal-clear piano serenade.

For me, this is absolutely the best Slowdive album to date, and it gives me high hopes in their future work because it best bespeaks that they are reluctant to be bound by any prism of song-writing or music production. This is more than the best expectation for an evolution in the past 22 years that a fan could long for, and it's a huge step forward for shoegaze and for rock music in general in my humble opinion.

Completely unbelievable I don't know how people can make noises sound so damn good

A pleasant surprise. "Star Roving" is one of my favourite songs of the 21st century. Here's hoping that Slowdive will soon have another album in the BEA top 1000. Oh, and by the way, I respectfully disagree with those of you who claim that the last 2 tracks bring this album down. I especially love "Falling Ashes".

From SleepDealer 06/13/2017 19:39 | #192521 | TOP COMMENT Vote up your preferred comments and the comments with the most votes will be flagged.

A fantastic dream pop album - up there with Souvlaki and the best of more recently popular bands like Beach House. What a come back!

From RoundTheBend TOP 100 COMMENTER 12/12/2017 05:46 | #202996 | TOP COMMENT Vote up your preferred comments and the comments with the most votes will be flagged.

I agree - this does sound like it almost came out in 1987. Yet somehow really fresh. I love the sonic places this goes and smooth listen. I don't like how much of the songs sound the same/similar melodies. But still solid.