Slowdive - Everything Is Alive

Alright, this is the first track that offers the more ambient, electronic stylings that the press release augured. I admit, I didn’t expect Slowdive 2023 to sound like Seefeel 1993. Still, nothing at all wrong with this tune and I still look forward to the album.

That is about fifty times better than “Kisses” and now I’m keen to hear the album

I just hope that the album is released in a digital format that isn’t brickwalled like this YT upload. Rachel Goswell is famously partly deaf, and the other members are getting on in years. Hopefully they listened to younger engineers who could ensure some room to breathe in the tracks.

yeah this is definitely the best so far

They are releasing a third song from an album of eight? I'm going to wait to hear the full album.

Sadly the mastering on iTunes download is as awful as on YouTube, one of the loudest files in my library.

Waveform of The Slab is literally a slab. Maybe it’s conceptual.

Rachel Goswell is famously partly deaf, and the other members are getting on in years.

Jesus, they're only in their early fifties. This isn't the Rolling Stones we're talking about!

they're of a generation that should hate brickwalling since they know what a real mastering job sounds like

Jesus, they're only in their early fifties.

As anyone in their early fifties could tell you, one’s ears aren’t what they were in one’s twenties or thirties. And all those changes in hearing are well known even for ordinary people, let alone members of a loud concert scene.

I'm in that age bracket myself, and while my ears' frequency range certainly isn't what it once was, I am still plenty capable of discerning a brickwall-limiter job from something with decent dynamic range. I just think it's kind of presumptuous to imply that Halstead and co. can't tell the difference any more?

Alex Lifeson brickwalled Rush’s Vapor Trails album at the age of 49. It seems a reasonable presumption that any rock artists are going to need younger ears to serve as a check.

really love all three of the advance tracks, i listen to them every day

I don't think younger ears would really help with brickwalling, it's more just a question of realizing it sounds like shit and you should allow for some headroom for dynamics

Apparently there's an ATMOS mix of this?

https://thequietus.com/articles/33300-slowdive-rachel-goswell-interview-favourite-music

(the thing that jumped out at me from this is neil having to pawn his guitar)

that and Rachel being BFFs with Wayne Hussey!

the phone call thing was a bit creepy

Yup

feel like if it had been creepy then adult Rachel wouldn't have wanted to meet up and hang out with him so I will go with her take on it

Are Jadu Heart any good?

https://www.billboard.com/music/rock/slowdive-rachel-goswell-everything-is-alive-album-tour-1235403397/

The angst that was there between Neil and I at certain points in the ’90s — that isn’t there anymore. We were together from about the age of 18 to 22, and split up just before Souvlaki — that is kind of seen as the breakup record — and it was obviously not an easy time for either of us. To have to remain in a band together post-that was very difficult. Normally you distance yourself, and we weren’t able to do that. It wasn’t easy, and I mentally probably quite destructive — certainly for me during those bloody years.

All of that is gone. Thirty-odd years has passed, and a lot has happened. I do feel like we have a genuine friendship within the band.

they've done it again!

maybe doesn't reach the same highs as the s/t and the sequencing is a little odd (mostly just "prayer remembered" is in an odd spot) but it's another great album from them. i'd even say their post-reunion discography > pre-reunion discography now! it's drawing a bit more on pygmalion and 5 than the s/t but also pushing into somewhat new territory with modular synth arpeggios everywhere

Xxpost: the new Jadu Heart album is probably their best yet. I like it, but your mileage may vary… they’re a bit generic indie rock… nothing special, but nothing offensive.

I think the phone call bit feels creepy with so many bad stories regarding musicians interacting with underage fans…, but I chose to believe this was actually innocent and sweet and that Mission dude wasn’t doing anything sexual and really just wanted to talk and thank his fans.

Relistening the Jadu Heart quickly to see what shoegaze influence she listened to and forgot there’s actually a couple of songs round the middle that sound shoegaze-y so I can see now why she liked it.

I don’t know if it’s because I’m an inch from falling asleep but It’s actually sounding really good right now.

“Shimmer” is the one that sort of sounds like mbv. Maybe check that out?

“Blame” and “freedom” are the songs I liked on first listens and haven’t really listened to it in the past months but realizing the middle of the album is actually good.

Also listened to the new Slowdive album.

Shanty is the highlight on first listen.

"shanty" is massive

best ever

really digging this

i'll have some more concrete thoughts in the next few days. in the meantime this is about... oh idk, 20 times better than i had expected?

"kisses" has become my so-far SOTY in case anyone was wondering. definitely one that belongs on my shoegaze makeout playlist.

oh for all the wickedness in the world, and yet here they still are. jfc, what a band.

and yeah-
on first listen, it's hard to say where it falls in the bigger picture. i will say this: if you even remotely liked the last album, you're gonna like this one too. a lot.

random outburst of thought-
john martyn's influence on just about fucking everything has been severely underestimated.

Listening now, glad this is out. Just found out they played last night in Hollywood.

This is really good, it does sound like their third album at times. Too short in my opinion.

they said there's two more tracks finished from these sessions but they cut them to keep it fitting on one lp. maybe those will show up somewhere idk

One more album, then it's time for the Mojave 3 reunion.

title isn't on the cover art all, only the spine (of the cd anyway). and i had a sew-on patch in mine.

lp was in the window of hmv but the cd was only in the new releases s-t bin with everything else released in the last month.

and no, you can't have my email to send me a receipt.

CD was similarly hidden at Newbury Comics in Harvard Square, and there was only one copy. There's barely any CDs there at all. I try to avoid Amazon but my local stores don't make it easy.

title isn't on the cover art all, only the spine (of the cd anyway).

this was fantastic on first listen, not a weak track. "Shanty" and "Andalucia Plays" were my favorites among the new tracks

I gotta hand it to them, Slowdive make some of the best opening tracks ever and "Shanty" kills. Irrespective of time, if Pygmalion is the hinge point in their sound then I like the last three albums more than the first three.

Great album

as good as every other slowdive album.

this album is so beautiful

Did this turn out to be as brick-walled as the previews sounded? Liked the music, but some of the drum hits sounded like sucked-air rather than a hit, and just one song left my ears fatigued...

i'm not sure, I've only listened to the streaming version (lossless) but via apple tv and my receiver and it sounded fine to me.

Related - here's a recent-ish interview with three-latter named Slowdive drummer Ian McCutcheon
https://wordsontape.com/remembering-the-view-ian-mccutcheon