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

Remix of "Sugar For the Pill" by Avalon Emerson -- not bad

https://soundcloud.com/deadoceans/slowdive-sugar-for-the-pill-avalon-emersons-gilded-escalation/s-5gxmk

Went to the show last night, no better or worse than the one I saw in 2014 (at the "worst venue in mpls"). Old hollowed out theater made for cool atmosphere, the sound was fine, and yet... my favorite of the reunited shoegaze bands I've seen is the one I've had the most trouble connecting with live. Just me?

cmon the fine line is pretty bad you have to admit

The quotes weren't meant to suggest I was questioning your judgment. I used to hate that place (for blasting Muse right before a Deerhunter set, and other crimes) but I've been to a lot of great shows there in the past few years.

'don't know why' is killing me

this is a damn good album. there's nothing as good as Alison, but as a whole it seems to be as good as any of their other albums.

not even close imo

i don't know how many times i've listened to 'don't know why' today, but it is a lot of fucking times, that is for sure

i had a very stupid and somewhat embarrasing thought about its structure - it's sort of like the lifecycle of a snowflake:
crystals forming on floating dust particles -> sudden blooming as flakes cohere -> the gradual surrender of melting -> final state of liquid non-being

poor sad snowflakes ;_;

this is a damn good album. there's nothing as good as Alison, but as a whole it seems to be as good as any of their other albums.

― brotherlovesdub, Friday, May 5, 2017 2:41 PM (yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

not even close imo

― imago, Friday, May 5, 2017 2:53 PM (yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

yeah, but how many albums have songs as good as Alison?

amazing record. I wasn't a huge fan of Slowdive back in the day so I'm comfortable asserting that "Star Roving" is as good as it gets.

Anybody even partially slagging this off is talking absolute nonsense. This is easily their third best album.

Pretty fantastic stuff.

i think this is easily better than pygmalion

i think it's their second best, frankly

i like this fine. I like all their albums in different ways, not so into ranking them.

very good comeback album

This album has grown on me a lot. I'm not sure where I'd rank it right now. It could well be my second favourite. The only song I'm not totally sold on is the last one. The way the, "thinking about love" bit overlaps near the end seems a bit clumsy and grates after a while. Everything up to that point is very enjoyable.

Dammit, I guess I really should hear this!! Is it better than the My Bloody Valentine comeback album?

yes (i didn't like mbv that much)

not remotely but give this a listen

My knee jerk reaction upon hearing mbv four years ago was basically, "Hmmph, guess they needed to wait for this sound to be fashionable again." Because it honestly sounded to me like the follow up recorded right after Loveless, just that they had waited to release it. As good as it is (and it **is** so good, so satisfying), it seemed kind of cold and calculated after the dust had settled.

But this new Slowdive, upon my knee jerk reaction, has me thinking it's a much more rewarding listen, just because of how it germinated and came to life. It feels to me a lot more. . . I don't know, earnest?

Both are really excellent records, but I think the comparisons between them stop at "shoegaze band that hasn't released a new album for a long time."

The only song I'm not totally sold on is the last one. The way the, "thinking about love" bit overlaps near the end seems a bit clumsy and grates after a while.

this is my only criticism of the album as well. though on my second listen through, it annoyed me less. i love everything else about that song

Good comeback album, but not as GREAT as Portishead's comeback.

this album is incredible

Doesn't seem to be on their main site yet but there's a live session over on Pitchfork's FB page:

https://www.facebook.com/Pitchfork/videos/vb.28015075999/10155179953621000/?type=2&theater

Saw them last night, and despite technical issues at the beginning, they were fantastic. The production was pretty impressive too, with a complex light show and a smoke machine that actually added to the concert experience without being corny

A board veteran disapproves. (Said veteran is wrong.)

I have done extensive research into the rock music of the 1990s and genuinely cannot comprehend why anyone cares much about Slowdive

— Matthew Perpetua (@perpetua) May 10, 2017

but he's done the research

he calibrates his hot takes with his devotion to Radiohead

Good comeback album, but not as GREAT as Portishead's comeback.

I agree with this sentiment. I think it was because Portishead evolved their style so much that it felt like a true followup and not a nostalgic look back to what once was. Really exciting record and they had a great live show to go with it, too. While this Slowdive album is certainly a progression, there's also a ton of nostalgia.

I guess Portishead are one and done with their comeback at this point. It's been what... nearly a decade since Third? Hope Slowdive has a few more in them.

Right. The problem is everyone else.

What's the phrase about how the truly insane people are that way because they have no grasp on how abnormal their own behavior is?

xpost, obviously.

Be on the lookout for "30th June", a 7.5 minute JP bonus track.

I guess Portishead are one and done with their comeback at this point. It's been what... nearly a decade since Third?

As part of a separate story I was interviewing Adrian Utley last week -- at the end of it I happily confessed to being a fan and said I was looking forward to whatever was next, but I didn't press him on it. Whatever happens does.

It's already nine years since Third? It feels like yesterday. When almost ten years seem like a year or so you are old, aren't you? From Dummy to Third felt like an eternity. And it was only 14 years?

but he's done the research

http://www.theonion.com/article/history-of-rock-written-by-the-losers-736

"Everyone Knows" is bliss distilled into aural form

"Third" was also great because it included one of their best tracks "The Rip"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZiBd1iGC3o

the japanese bonus track has shown up. it's great and i wish it would have been on the album proper

It would have been funny if he's sung "thinkin' 'bout Slowdive" at the end of Falling Ashes over and over instead

he'd

Finally getting around to hearing this and very much enjoying it. Very good record.

The thing I keep hearing on the radio reminds me of China crisis.

Does anyone else think Neil sounds like Feargal Sharkey on Slomo?

"star roving" kinda reminds me of this

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQar3ayLaP4

(a compliment)

^ The best thing Coldplay ever did.

agreed!

I've actually lost count of the amount of times I've listened to 'Star Roving' since Saturday.

having already played Star Roving and Sugar for the Pill a zillion times before the album came out, I'm now focusing on Slomo and Go Get It.