A few months ago I purchased an awesome album from the UK called “Waves of Distortion (The Best of Shoegaze 1990-2022)”. It included all the usual suspects: Ride, Chapterhouse, Lush, Pale Saints, Telescopes, etc…. but it also included a few surprises that were very welcome: Beach House, Lowtide, Ringo Deathstarr, DIIV, and Mogwai. Another pleasant surprise was that, instead of just going for super well known tracks from the classic bands, they went for some less obvious ones and (in the case of Slowdive) a really recent track, opting instead to include “Slomo” from Slowdive’s gorgeous self-titled 2017 comeback album.
Of course I owned the 2017 album (did you really need to ask?) but, typically, I rarely have time to properly get to know some albums and that was one that fell by the wayside. I remembered getting it back when it came out, and being surprised by it, but beyond that I didn’t remember much of anything from the album. I know that I probably hadn’t really listened to it more than just the once when I ripped it to FLAC to make myself a backup copy.
All this to say that when I got the “Waves of Distortion” LP, I was pleasantly surprised by how good “Slomo” was, and was actually surprised to discover that it was a Slowdive song, and even more surprised (and disappointed in myself) to realize that I had it in my collection already but didn’t recognize it. This in turn made me pull out the 2017 album and give it another spin.
I was blown away by how good the album really was and I had it on heavy rotation for a few weeks before discovering that Slowdive were already preparing to release its follow up, “Everything is Alive”.
Excited by how indispensable the 2017 album had become to my daily routine, I immediately pre-ordered a copy of its follow up album. I’m not sure what I was expecting or hoping for. Did I want more of the same? Did I want a change of direction? Going in without any preconceived ideas, I was delighted with “Everything is Alive”.
One thing I really liked was the use of subtle electronica running through the album, especially on two of my favourite tracks, though both remain very much uniquely Slowdive: “Shanty” (which reminds me a bit of Beachy Head) and “Chained to a Cloud” (whose melancholic melody lines remind me of Monster Movie). For those who don’t know, Slowdive guitarist Christian Savill is a member of both Beachy Head and Monster Movie, and those influences are definitely on display here.
Although I am more of a fan of fast-tempo music, this album hits all the right spots. There is something hypnotic and comforting about Slowdive’s particular brand of shoegaze/dream pop, and “Everything is Alive” offers 8 gorgeous tracks of floating bliss that are uniquely Slowdive.
#MusicBoxTW
