There's something to be said for lifelong friendships. Rachel Goswell and Neil Halstead of the band Slowdive have known one another since their first days of primary school. Together with a group of friends in their hometown of Reading, England, they assembled the band Slowdive in 1989.
Following the release of their 1995 album Pygmalion, the members of Slowdive went on a bit of a break … that lasted 20 years. But because they had been friends for so long, a reunion felt natural. "We made a decision to get back together and do a record, and it just felt like everyone was really keen and excited to do that, so I guess it was pretty easy," Halstead says. "It was weird; as soon as we started rehearsing again, it really felt like it was the same gang. We kind of fell into our respective modes of band behavior. Everyone fell into their spot within the group. We hadn't spent a lot of time together as a group over the past 20 years, so it was so interesting to see those patterns of behavior fall in again."
On May 5, 2017, Slowdive released a new, self-titled album ("We hadn't done a record in so long, it seemed like the obvious but right choice," Halstead says).
SONGS PERFORMED
00:00 "Sugar For The Pill"
04:27 "Souvlaki Space Station"
09:50 "Star Roving"
The first and third songs are from Slowdive's 2017 self-titled album, available on Dead Oceans; the second song is from Slowdive's 1993 release, Souvlaki, on Creation Records.
PERSONNEL
Rachel Goswell
Neil Halstead
Christian Savill
Nick Chaplin
Simon Scott
MORE FROM THIS SESSION
Star Roving • Slowdive - Star Roving...
Sugar for the Pill • Slowdive - Sugar for t...
Souvlaki Space Station • Slowdive - Souvlaki Sp...
Full Session • Slowdive - Full perfor...
#shoegaze #dreampop #indierock