Slowdive – Everything is Alive

Review Score:

B+

September 20 / 2023

Slowdive’s everything is alive is the kind of record you can get lost in. This was sort of my exact experience from start to finish. At times, I sort of forgot that I’m even listening to music at all (for better or for worse). It flows like a gentle stream. It’s not going to blow your mind, it’s not going to surprise or upset you. It’s a pleasant listen from the veteran artists.

I enjoyed this album on a cool, end-of-summer morning. I drank my coffee and let it play out while I sat and stared at the clouds. That’s probably how this is best enjoyed. Perhaps it will strike me differently when I’m driving under the city streetlamps at 1 am. The album’s singles were the highlights for me, with “kisses” being the stand out. It probably has the strongest melody of the album’s eight songs. Neil Halstead’s lyrics always paint these hazy, moody scenes that work especially well with the musical aesthetic of this album.

I found “chained to a cloud” to be a close second. The hypnotizing synths and the consistent, driving percussion blend well with the intentionally vague lyricism to create flowing walls of sound. The closing track, “the slab”, is another highlight. It’s one of the more voluminous, wide open songs. It sounds like what would play at the end of Hotline Miami if it had a optimistic ending.

Slowdive is at its best when it can put you in a trance and keep you there. On everything is alive they play to their strengths. And the resulting album is one of the most consistent in their catalog.

B+

Gubb wrote this review. You can’t get mad at Gubb.