In the future, things could get very interesting indeed.” But the new record still has a toe in that Pygmalion sound. He has these sparks of melodies, like ‘Sugar For The Pill’ and ‘Star Roving’, which are really special. “Neil is such a gifted songwriter, so the songs won.
A fecund period of experimentation with “40-minute iPhone jams” allowed the unit to then amplify the core of their chemistry. For us, that flow re-started with us playing live again and that has continued into the record.”ĭrummer and loop conductor Simon Scott enhanced the likes of ‘Slomo’ and ‘Falling Ashes’ with abstract textures conjured via his laptop’s signal processing software. “When you’re in a band and you do three records, there’s a continuous flow and a development. This time out the group dynamic was all-important. “It’s poppier than I thought it was going to be,” notes Halstead, who was the primary architect of 1995‘s previous full-length transmission Pygmalion. Birthed at the band’s talismanic Oxfordshire haunt The Courtyard – “It felt like home,” enthuses guitarist Christian Savill – their diamantine melodies were mixed to a suitably hypnotic sheen at Los Angeles’ famed Sunset Sound facility by Chris Coady (perhaps best known for his work with Beach House, one of countless contemporary acts to have followed in Slowdive’s wake). Self-titled with quiet confidence, Slowdive’s stargazing alchemy is set to further entrance the faithful while beguiling a legion of fresh ears.ĭeftly swerving what co-vocalist/guitarist Rachel Goswell terms “a trip down memory lane”, these eight new tracks are simultaneously expansive and the sonic pathfinders’ most direct material to date. The UK shoegaze pioneers have now channelled such seemingly impossible belief into a fourth studio opus which belies his characteristic modesty.
“It was just nice to realise that there was a decent amount of interest in it,” says principal songwriter Neil Halstead. Highlights thus far include a festival-conquering, sea-of-devotees Primavera Sound performance, of which Pitchfork noted: “The beauty of their crystalline sound is almost hard to believe, every note in its perfect place.” Slowdive’s second act as a live blockbuster has already been rapturously received around the world. “It felt like we were in a movie that had a totally implausible ending.”
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