Slowdive

Slowdive are a British shoegaze and dream pop group from Reading, England, formed in 1989 and active since then, with a sound also associated with ambient pop, noise pop, post-rock and rock. The group’s line-up includes Rachel Goswell, Neil Halstead, Nick Chaplin, Christian Savill, Simon Scott, Neil Carter, Ian McCutcheon and Adrian Sell. Goswell and Halstead know each other from early childhood in Reading.

Early recordings and Creation Records

The band signs to Creation Records in 1990 and quickly attracts attention from the British music press. Its early releases include the Slowdive EP in 1990, followed by the EPs Morningrise and Holding Our Breath in 1991. Slowdive’s style at this point uses heavy guitar effects and muted vocals, with influences from the Cocteau Twins and Creation labelmates My Bloody Valentine.

The debut album, Just for a Day, is written and recorded in six weeks and becomes a UK top forty entry, although it is not widely well received at the time. A later US release is delayed, and the band tours the United States with Ride in 1992 before returning to record a second album.

Souvlaki and later 1990s work

Souvlaki becomes the group’s best-known and most highly regarded album. Two tracks feature Brian Eno, and the record includes songs such as “Souvlaki Space Station”, “When the Sun Hits”, “Alison”, “Dagger” and “Here She Comes”. The UK version is issued with Blue Day, a companion compilation of early EP material. In the same period, the band releases the 5 EP, whose tracks show an influence from ambient techno, and the song “In Mind” is also remixed by Bandulu and Reload.

Simon Scott leaves in 1994 and is replaced by Ian McCutcheon. The band’s final album of the 1990s, Pygmalion, appears in 1995 and moves towards a more minimal, ambient sound. Slowdive is dropped by Creation shortly after its release and then goes on hiatus later that year.

After the hiatus

After Slowdive pauses, Neil Halstead, Rachel Goswell and Ian McCutcheon record country-influenced material as Mojave 3 and sign to 4AD. Halstead and Goswell also release solo albums for the label. Christian Savill forms Monster Movie, while Simon Scott later forms Televise in 2004.

Reunion and recent releases

In 2014, Slowdive reunites with the Just for a Day/Souvlaki-era line-up, including Simon Scott on drums, and plays Primavera Sound in Barcelona. The group tours extensively that year. It then returns with new recordings on Dead Oceans, releasing a self-titled fourth album in 2017. In 2023, Slowdive issues Everything Is Alive, preceded by the singles “Kisses”, “Skin in the Game”, “The Slab” and “Alife”, and plays Glastonbury for the first time.

Reissues

In 2005, the band’s albums are reissued. Just for a Day includes a bonus disc with the first three EPs and three tracks from a John Peel session recorded in March 1991. Souvlaki includes additional EP material and “Some Velvet Morning”, while Pygmalion is reissued without extra tracks.