Richard Brabin

Slowdive – Slowdive

With the natural scepticism of any iconic band reforming and reimagining, there was certainly a wince and a wheeze at the news of Slowdive, a band who shimmered and schmoozed their way through the nineties, returning for another bite at their ethereal apple. Come on, how often do these reunion things really work? The answer is rarely. And it takes the work of unfathomably consummate songwriters and performers to continue the stream of consciousness after twenty years in the wilderness.

Slowdive are thankfully one of these musical anomalies and their self titled is as good as anything the band have ever released to date. With their attitude never wavering and the non confrontational intensity as piercing as ever, Slowdive take us to new, unchartered beginnings with a seemingly endless supply of epic soundscapes and dreamlike fantasies. The wall of noise, credited to bands of their original era, is a supple and contextualised creation, never finite or intrusive, and rather playfully tugs and pulls at the sleeve of the listener, inviting them to join an adventure in a strange and alluring land.

4 / 5