Slowdive - Everything Is Alive

"Why should we change our sound? Coldplay is the one who sucks"

Our imago compared "Sugar for the Pill" to Coldplay last time around. There's certainly some shared sonics between the bands, hate it or not

Liking this but wish there were more variety in the vocals. I knew not to really expect Rachel singing lead at this point but Neil seems stuck on his whispered cozy-sweater voice he started when he went solo.

There's certainly some shared sonics between the bands, hate it or not

― Vinnie, Monday, 11 September 2023

No, not really. Even if Imago says so.

I'm liking this new LP. I'm not as keen as others. But it doesn't sound like Coldplay, that's just lazy.

What I do love is some of the guitar tones that are so recognisable from the early EPs and first LP. It's obviously them, despite some of the more mellow changes.

I’ve wondered if they had Cali in the bag from the early 90s and just never went anywhere with it.

Yes, they did. There was a YouTube video where Andy showed how to play it and said it was a riff / chord progression he'd had kicking around back in the original days of Ride but never got round to doing anything with.

Finally properly listening and it's a beaut and a half, long may they thrive.

Separately, a 2017 tape from Simon Scott just got a formal digital release:

https://datworm.bandcamp.com/album/stuk

"kisses" and "sugar for the pill" are both fairly boring as far as slowdive songs go (i would take "chinese sleep chant" over both, sure) but that is the extent that the coldplay comparison makes sense

Love Sugar for the Pill, but I also dug Chinese Sleep Chant during my brief dalliance with taking Coldplay semi-seriously.

it’s not just that they “sound” more like a Coldplay band now… these new songs are more treacly, not enough moody minor chords. also one thing I loved about souvlaki was that it kinda still sounded like an 80s album at times, like zero apologies for turning the chorus pedal way up <3

that album is from 30 years ago, imagine comparing Souvlaki to an album released in 1963

someone's gotta tell me which coldplay record sounds like this

New stuff sounded a bit stilted to me at the Toronto gig, but it was the first night of their tour so. Crowd was SOOO excited, huge age range, and typically diverse for a show here, thankfully not just a bunch of old white dudes like me nursing a beer.

yeah, i want to know which excellent Coldplay records I've been missing out on!

I was also at the Toronto show and was also pleasantly surprised at the diversity of the crowd

The only Coldplay similarity I’m hearing is that the new also contains arpeggios on the guitar

*stuff

Friend’s boyfriend forgot he had a one-off show so she offered me a free ticket for the Philly show tomorrow night. Pretty stoked!

Full Webster Hall show

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pW2XW-sqmVA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rb8pMcAqdss

they were excellent in Philly last night

the new stuff was good, too— “Prayer Remembered” particularly beautiful

folks on twitter still discussing Slowdive appeal on tiktok but also noting they reunited before tikkok love and have long had legacy rock coverage

Just saw their show tonight at a bowling alley in Cleveland (actually it was Lakewood but never mind). I’m really not much of a concertgoer in my old age but goddamn this band puts on a great show! Sounds amazing, great sounds, perfect acoustics, great tunes… if only I had somewhere to sit! Fuck, they make you stand up the whole time! Hmph!

Meantime, want to hear a show I was at in 1993? Of course you do.

https://doomandgloomfromthetomb.tumblr.com/post/730258076121415680/slowdive-the-roxy-los-angeles-california

Can't wait for next week!

Ned's the guy talking throughout the whole show 😆

but seriously, very psyched to have weaseled my way into the denver slowdive show this week ... cannot wait.

Oh wow. I was at that 93 show at the Roxy!

Oh wait , that might be a different show as they were not supporting Catherine Wheel when I saw them. Did they play twice at the Roxy behind Souvlaki?!

I actually didn't make that Catherine Wheel and Slowdive show because I saw Slowdive the night before. They played a solo show on top of a store front on Hollywood Blvd but could have been Sunset. This wasn't a normal concert hall, it was some restaurant without anything in it. Never saw another show there as the whole things did seem unusual. My girlfriend at the time, Amy, actually had a few moment with Rachael. She just told me afterwards that Rachael was so in love with Neil, lol. Yes Raaderonixx, I saw Slowdive at the Roxy but not sure which tour. I have seem them a lot, along with Mojave 3 and maybe around 20 times give or take. Why I'm so bummed about missing this tour when they come to LA next week. It will be the first time that I will miss a tour. Checked Saturday Night tickets today and they were $250.

I saw Adorable at the Whiskey the night before this Slowdive show. That was probably the best show of 1993, I thought they were going to be massive.

Found it: https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/slowdive/1993/hollywood-auditorium-los-angeles-ca-73d1dea1.html

Yeah, the venue was only used 12 times.

Found it baaderonixx, they came back for this tour and played the Roxy April 11, 1994:

https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/slowdive/1994/the-roxy-west-hollywood-ca-7bd1dec4.html

I was also at that show.

Yeah that was the 94 tour where they played a separate show at Cal State Fullerton and I went to that instead as it was closer.

I saw Adorable at the Whiskey the night before this Slowdive show.

Argh, THAT show I wish I saw because IIRC Underground Lovers opened on the back of Leaves Me Blind. Still wish I had seen them live around then.

https://images.kerrangcdn.com/Sick-New-World-2024-poster.jpeg?auto=compress&fit=crop&w=1008

we see you hiding down there, Drop Nineteens

(hmv update: piles of the new lp in store on Saturday, probably because it is in some sort of chart. a pound cheaper than my copy too)

You've met Count Dracula, but have you met his snarky teenage daughter, Kim Dracula?

Is that Sunn O))) on the bottom line? what an absolutely bizarre lineup. Excited to see Slowdive opening for Slipknot.

I'm guessing that is actually Ultra Sunn, an "EBM" duo from Belgium.

my 17y/o was telling me how awesome this will be and reading the band list and got to slowdive and i just sorta "lol you joshing me" and she was 'nah numetal crossover'

Hell black metal crossover more like. Alcest had Neil on that one album for a reason.

My mind keeps exploding every time I get to a new line of that poster.

Lords of Acid?!?!

I wanna see your pussy, show it to me

Remarkable alternate lyrics to "Catch the Breeze" there.

Different setlist last night - pretty sure several people fainted (if metaphorically) during "Avalyn"

good lord… plus “sleep”! “golden hair”!

making the second SF show tonight, kind of last minute; had to buy resale tix which were marked "GA" but when delivered say "GA: balcony"; hoping they don't actually care and I can make it onto the floor (then again....I may be praying for a balcony seat 20 minutes into the show).

I tried to go to the LA shows at the last moment but failed, now I'm pissed that I did.

"golden hair" in denver was radical

great show in SF last night, I hadn't realized this was the last one of the tour so we were lucky that they added this on due to demand. Only issue: my god it was loud. I would have turned down the bass and indeed the entire volume by 1/4. Some of this was MBV-level loud. Have all the shows on the tour been like this?