Slowdive - s/t (2017): let's rejoice, shall we?

When the drums come in during the intro on "Slomo" I'm reminded of "The Streets of Philadelphia".

The hidden track "Chinese Sleep Chant" was described as "a self-conscious parody of shoegaze" with My Bloody Valentine influences. Critics also noted the "wall of sound, heavily processed guitar-swirl and falsetto vocals through reverb."[4][5]

There's more shoegaze DNA in Coldplay than a lot of people would be comfortable admitting - I don't really remember anyone doing that chung-chung-chung straight strummed eight-notes in rock music before shoegaze. And while the differences don't need to be outlined, it does feel like early Coldplay took that blueprint - the lack of rhythmic interest, the aching-but-vague melancholy, and stripped out all the difficult or diffuse bits, simplified the textures and made it anthemic.

OTM

I've mentioned it awhile back but Star Roving sounds a lot like a sped up version of this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0R5icZgqZ4s

I barely remember that song, sounds way better than I thought, I wasn't into that album much. Neil Halstead said he liked Serena Maneesh when that album came out.

Album of the Year, so far. i can't stop playing this thing. it's funny as i have seen Slowdive/Mojave 3 around 15 times and know they are one of my very favorite bands. did not think they would have an album this good after all this time, what 22 years? the new Jesus and Mary Chain is not even close to this album.

Slowdive tickets go on pre-sale tomorrow for Los Angeles at the Wiltern. officially go on-sale on Friday.

getting tickets tomorrow, it will be like my 16 time seeing either Slowdiver or Mojave 3. i can't tell you how excited i am about this show!

los angeles and joshua tree shows added to us tour!

Very happy to announce two new dates for our North American Fall tour! We will be playing LA @ The Wiltern and Joshua Tree @ Pappy & Harriet’s in October!

Tickets for LA and Joshua Tree go on sale Friday 28th July at 10am

All other remaining tickets are available now. Ticket links in the sidebar ->

Mon. Oct. 23 – Vancouver, BC @ The Commodore
Wed. Oct. 25 – Seattle, WA @ The Neptune *SOLD OUT*
Thu. Oct. 26 – Portland, OR @ Crystal Ballroom
Sat. Oct. 28 – Oakland, CA @ Fox Theater
Sun. Oct. 29 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Wiltern *NEW DATE*
Mon. Oct. 30 – Joshua Tree, CA @ Pappy & Harriet’s * NEW DATE*
Wed. Nov. 1 – Denver, CO @ The Ogden
Fri. Nov. 3 – Kansas City, MO @ The Truman
Sat. Nov. 4 – Madison, WI @ Barrymore Theatre
Sun. Nov. 5 – Chicago, IL @ Vic Theatre
Tue. Nov. 7 – Columbus, OH @ Newport Music Hall
Wed. Nov. 8 – Detroit, MI @ Majestic Theatre
Thu. Nov. 9 – Buffalo, NY @ Town Ballroom
Fri. Nov. 10 – Toronto, ON @ CANADA @ Massey Hall
Sat. Nov. 11 – New Haven, CT @ College St Music Hall
Sun. Nov. 12 – New York City, NY @ Terminal 5
Tue. Nov. 14 – Boston,MA @ Paradise
Wed. Nov. 15 – Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer
Thu. Nov. 16 – Baltimore, MD @ Ram’s Head
Fri. Nov. 17 – Asheville, NC @ The Orange Peel

Thank you for the reminder, got my Oakland ticket. Will be the first time seeing them since the reunion was announced -- had been waiting on them to do new material first.

agh gotta get my oakland ticket as well!!

Getting Wiltern tickets too. Probably Pappy & Harriets too since the show is on my birthday but holy hell there were a lot of boring adult hipsters out there last time.

I'm still bemused a bit that a band I last saw at a small show at Cal State Fullerton's pub will be at a rather larger venue.

got oakland tix as well... thanks for the reminder

They were great at Roskilde earlier this month. Enjoy!

I'm still bemused a bit that a band I last saw at a small show at Cal State Fullerton's pub will be at a rather larger venue.

Ha! I was at that show too.

I figured! The three times I saw them back then would have been opening for Ride mid-92 (this was after they had first cancelled opening for Blur in 91, then the falling through of the joint tour with Cranes earlier in 92), then opening for Catherine Wheel mid-93 and finally said Fullerton show. Great each time, it must be said.

First time for me since LA show at the Roxy in 93!

i just bought six tix to the Wiltern, happy!

baaderonixx i was also at that show. they are so, so good live. it was the drummer that made Slowdive special live. i hope it is the same guy this time around?

I'm still bemused a bit that a band I last saw at a small show at Cal State Fullerton's pub will be at a rather larger venue.

lol i think i was too

anyways i'm obsessed with Don't Know Why atm

I think the drummer is really creative with the way his part supplements the shift in feeling without changing too much about his approach. Namely his snare is really nervous and antsy as the song builds towards a release, and when that happens it retains a similar shuffle but feels more triumphant in the same way the rest of the instrumentation loosens up as well at that moment. Like the feeling of rushing towards the end of the tunnel and then suddenly hitting the sunlight.

Hollywood, California October 29, 2017:

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/4CWB3oOZLRVptFpkFjTMd_ExqRVxsHLXG9GVamY0HQPvDr67epOAptkTVHF3t6NPbSBDjju6QbKSTMN9xCJMkxXyQHVCtVSWgPj4oKYFiV0lTcCOgzb_Hr65yPasnzbK3hNE31uYj1UN8uqJ1sREqQlRbfuWlHJ-yxEFcZkdz_I7i-xCfbSSUJ4-FkDTzTCXN-MAWBh67kRQPx9Ou2vZvlk5MS5KzomjXGZWVFZfRgegRLIR3tiAcwj58CdHyBmMwZKpnuTSw06XGpIy3lCt9xBDT5rcf3fk7AjgU7Un-1EA9BZKQYEqVEBDJhG1MmSaLWcatnlg4TIAiW_wQpP53CaGQQlERwaV42u3obpGmKWRZLMPg-DdJH9SYJSzzXj2lBUgz8zt8QVQYRxL9mfErrC3YeLt0fKhc1skFRwp2tkyw8uf0OApdwSMd5dgRvuKQ-TIVB5hxCR2RePDxPjf0HNitDVDpQk9qcUy-v4uQnXKS0vp3mu7isA_0HsvoKu0cdtmm2fCbi9SiDhCWICTFAKpZoecMpPbOkl45czZqnlBXTSnxl9lchO4xYccZJlzgAHmy-JxluwXY1FOAQyni96uDt93zT7KL3OPCwe1HQ=w507-h901-no

try again:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/OnvQEKpEktkWARgbhhm4WMzwybo9WEfQyPR2ohVlLbJQBm94C6Qdh40xSbmalFXxlCmfm7yfu9NzltcSayhvz9S4uVtFXJ-W-AN4mfGSzLx4TNP9dPJZrrNPi6fwp4UJZI5PFDnWn2a-BvAqptxRMVdNEmvpyPnpwmDMuK3xUSv3FkPAxwn2sch_rATSF7bWeHV861wgnAjlJ3eCdmRuPobzcQ4wJcIlk9AvfWqVstH4H-FufMG__gRg8l1c8vrBBSVDqOQShsIu4TOUwo_-U1nR5tKuRsXsfJeetmV6R6JJnoKHhCns1NQCTW8ysEsC6VMef7yfmEQJWYbDEOHS1z4hokjUrXB_wwr6JIq5yi0tmx2U8EN23tL_s90Cwt2H8PenGWhcPYcirHJheo5-Eh6CuFJhc_Gi5B8qKiNqbz9OBAKQsh8cSvp8-KkOvFz7NQsmS5dH_XIpEr2LSzGdS7sBwe_RmrhOpY2WDR1wlsgepkrmquWQiMYuAWi1a-78_6aMJoZkNygCh44Wla5SXgmblK8eaC0S6rchtqDoNM0xsFg2dhClnWVZUy9AZr_LMvZL07_LX8RLfSkNmHypm_mz-916yhMbHPE4zZ5oysVD0MyKR_tazC5ZPDovI3U4rVEDwnk9mnbGqY08koG3OyJH1eB4LOKaeHw=w535-h950-no

Finally heard this album, it's quite lovely. "Slomo" is one of their best ever tracks I think, it has such a restless, haunting air to it. I could listen to it for a long long time

I haven't listened to this album for ages... gonna have to sort that today!

I'll be at that Wiltern show too.

Saw them live recently. One of the best shows i've seen. Fantastic.

countdown four days and counting...

I re-listened to this today and enjoyed it quite a hell of a lot.

i know, i'm really looking forward to this show. i also got like eight of us going too, going to be a fun night. Cherry Glazer is opening and she opened for Spoon earlier this year. she rocked thou i only caught like three songs.

this album sounds beautiful on a sunny, crisp fall morning

this is my Slowdive weekend in 2017

Seeing the show tomorrow, should be fun!

Missed the show. When I was 20 I used to listen to souvlaki at a brick house in the suburbs of Langley. Used
To write there. That album saved me

Going to see them tonight. Guessing Ned will also be there! Saw them a couple years ago at the Warfield in SF and they were amazing, but definitely broke a few guitar strings in the process.

Enjoy octo

awesome show at the fox in oakland tonight. never seen them live ... pretty overwhelming sonic and visual experience. more please.

Yeah while it was a real treat to see them back when (92, 93, 94), they were either openers or in a very tiny venue. Seeing them with a big crowd and that really great light/film setup felt so well deserved. And yes, great show indeed.

agreed, fantastic. that warfield show was only last year btw (with Low opening); low were obv a better opener than cherry glazzer (who I do not like aside from their keyboardist); but this set from slowdive I think was much better than that one, they seem very baked in, much more comfortable being slowdive again.

also the s/t album rules, anyone who derided it above is crazy

Yeah I missed the earlier reunion tour but I wasn't too fussed because I'd already see the band do most of that stuff already -- I wanted to get a sense of where they were at now instead. So the combination of a great new album -- and the generally more uptempo feel of five or six songs they played from it helped leaven the set's generally stately progression -- plus being settled into a 'okay we are back and doing stuff we're now immediately engaged in,' combined with how they played with the arrangements of the classics -- "Crazy For You," "Dagger" and "Golden Hair" were particularly transformed -- paid off.

Arrived right when the opening band was finishing up so sounds like I timed it well.

Muttered this on Facebook as well but:

* a very young crowd! Not entirely but the vast majority of people around me up front clearly were born around when the band was first touring/releasing things.

* Having Eno cuts from Apollo opening and closing the set was a nice touch -- and fully earned given his work with them on Souvlaki

* As soon as "When the Sun Hits" started most of the people around me immediately proceeded to light up/vape. Which even though I've never done either actually did seem like the right move at the time.

(Also, last year? The first reunion tour was 2014, I wasn't living here yet.)

Also: I was amused by the blatant pill/drug animation at one point -- almost seemed more Spiritualized -- due to the markings on the capsule: 'SD 1-989' -- ie, Slowdive 1989, when they formed.

Jealous. Had my tickets but gig coincided with arrival of new baby. Hope I’ll get another chance

i was at the oakland show last night as well! made this 25-year-old's teenage dream come true seeing them! wept all of my tears when they opened the set with "slomo." would've been even more incredible if low were the openers (no shade to cherry glazerr).

Yeah I really appreciated how they started the set with that -- exactly what I would have done, don't bother with an old favorite first. And it was very well done.

Saw them in Israel about 2 months ago and it was one of the best showsi've seen

a very young crowd! Not entirely but the vast majority of people around me up front clearly were born around when the band was first touring/releasing things

I saw them at The Roundhouse (in London) the other week and overheard a couple of people talking - one said he hadn't seen them since 1991 and the other replied that he hadn't even been born then. Also, I don't remember them ever headlining such a big venue first time around, so they've definitely picked up a lot of new fans.