Editing Slowdive

{{Short description|British shoegaze band}}
{{About|the band|their eponymous album|Slowdive (album){{!}}''Slowdive'' (album)|their eponymous EP|Slowdive (EP){{!}}''Slowdive'' (EP)|the Siouxsie and the Banshees song|Slowdive (song)}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2020}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name              = Slowdive
| background        = group_or_band
| image             = Slowdive live 1992.jpg
| caption           = [[Neil Halstead]] and [[Rachel Goswell]] performing with Slowdive in [[Leicester]], England, 1992
| image_size        = 250px
| origin            = [[Reading, Berkshire]], England
| genre             = {{hlist|[[Dream pop]]|[[shoegaze]]|[[Ambient music|ambient]]}}
| years_active      = {{hlist|1989–1995|2014–present}}
| label             = {{hlist|[[Creation Records|Creation]]|[[SBK Records|SBK]]|[[Dead Oceans]]|[[Sonic Cathedral]]}}
| website           = {{Official URL}}
| spinoffs          = {{hlist|[[Mojave 3]]|[[Monster Movie (band)|Monster Movie]]}}
| current_members   = * [[Neil Halstead]]
* [[Rachel Goswell]]
* Nick Chaplin
* [[Christian Savill]]
* [[Simon Scott (drummer)|Simon Scott]]
| past_members      = * Adrian Sell
* Neil Carter
* Ian McCutcheon
}}

'''Slowdive''' (stylized in [[lowercase]]) are an [[English people|English]] rock band that formed in [[Reading, Berkshire]], in 1989. The band consists of [[Neil Halstead]] (vocals, guitars), [[Rachel Goswell]] (vocals, guitars, keyboards), [[Christian Savill]] (guitars), Nick Chaplin (bass), and [[Simon Scott (drummer)|Simon Scott]] (drums, guitars, electronics), all of whom played on the band's early records. Halstead is the band's primary songwriter.

After releasing several EPs, the band released debut album ''[[Just for a Day]]'' (1991) and follow up ''[[Souvlaki (album)|Souvlaki]]'' (1993), making the band one of the leading figures of the UK [[shoegaze]] scene of the early 1990s. The group broke up soon after the release of their third studio album, ''[[Pygmalion (album)|Pygmalion]]'', in 1995, having seen Scott, Savill and Chaplin depart the band prior. The remaining members continued under a more [[Folk music|folk]] and [[Country music|country]]-influenced direction as [[Mojave 3]]. 

Slowdive reunited in 2014 to play the [[Primavera Sound]] festival and released a [[Slowdive (album)|self-titled studio album]] in 2017, their first in 22 years. The band's fifth studio album, ''[[Everything Is Alive (album)|Everything Is Alive]]'', was released in 2023 and became Slowdive's first top ten album in any country, doing so in Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.

==History==
===1989–1991: Formation and early EPs===
Slowdive were formed in [[Reading, Berkshire|Reading]], England, by [[Neil Halstead]] and [[Rachel Goswell]] in October 1989. The two sang and played guitar, and had been friends since they were 6 years old. At a Sunday youth group, they began making music in an [[indie pop]] band called the Pumpkin Fairies, with bassist Mike Cottle and drummer Adrian Sell. When the Pumpkin Fairies disbanded, Slowdive formed, also including drummer Adrian Sell and Sell's friend, bassist Nick Chaplin. A third guitarist named Christian Savill, previously of the band Eternal, joined when he became the only person to answer an advert from the band. The ad called for a female guitarist, but Savill wanted to join so badly he offered to wear a dress. He was subsequently recruited.<ref name = "WATSON_2A">Watson (2005a), p. 2</ref> The name "Slowdive" was inspired by a dream Chaplin experienced,<ref>{{cite web |last=Strutt |url=http://www.pennyblackmusic.co.uk/MagSitePages/Article/7344/Slowdive-Interview |publisher=Pennyblackmusic.co.uk |title=Slowdive interview |date=24 February 2014 |access-date=1 July 2015 |archive-date=22 July 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150722122452/http://www.pennyblackmusic.co.uk/MagSitePages/Article/7344/Slowdive-Interview |url-status=bot: unknown }}</ref> and a conversation he had with Goswell, who mentioned "[[Slowdive (song)|Slowdive]]", the name of a single by one of her favourite bands, [[Siouxsie and the Banshees]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Eisenhardt |first=Asa |url=http://whenthesunhitsblog.blogspot.com/2014/08/wtsh-interviews-neil-halstead-simon.html |title=WTSH interviews with Neil Halstead and Simon Scoot of Slowdive |publisher=When the sun hits |date=1 August 2014 |access-date=1 July 2015 |quote=I just remember we were coming into rehearsal and sorting out [band] names, and [Nick] saying 'I had a dream that Slowburn was the name.' And Rachel was like, 'Well, how about Slowdive?' She was a big Siouxsie and the Banshees fan. I didn’t know Siouxsie at the time, but I just thought the name fit, and I ended up writing the song 'Slowdive' around that name we’d just [come up with] |archive-date=2 January 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150102105857/http://whenthesunhitsblog.blogspot.com/2014/08/wtsh-interviews-neil-halstead-simon.html |url-status=bot: unknown }}</ref> Goswell later said that she was outvoted for the choice of the name in the end.<ref>{{cite podcast |url=https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5zaW1wbGVjYXN0LmNvbS9VZ1lyT19MQw== |title=Rachel Goswell Pt. 1: The Solitary and The Sociable| publisher=Curious Creatures |host=[[Lol Tolhurst]] & [[Budgie (musician)|Budgie]] | time=29:20 |date=2022-12-11 |access-date=2023-01-04}}</ref>

The band quickly recorded a [[Demo (music)|demo]] and several months later played a show with the band [[Five Thirty]]. Steve Walters, head of [[Artists and repertoire|A&R]] at [[EMI]], attended the show. Afterward, he approached Savill and requested one of their demos. Slowdive signed a [[recording contract]] with [[Creation Records]] shortly after. The average age of the band was 19 at the time.<ref name = "BUCKLEY_ROCK">{{cite book | title = The Rough Guide To Rock | author = Buckley, Peter | publisher = [[Rough Guides]] | edition = 3rd | date = November 2003 | page = [https://archive.org/details/roughguidetorock0003unse/page/956 956] | isbn = 1-84353-105-4 | url = https://archive.org/details/roughguidetorock0003unse/page/956 }}</ref> Sell felt things were progressing too fast and left for university after being in the band for about six months.<ref name = "WATSON_2A"/><ref name = "NME_BIO">{{cite magazine | url = http://www.nme.com/artists/slowdive | title = Slowdive biography | author =  | magazine = [[NME]] | access-date = 2009-08-22}}</ref>

A [[Slowdive (EP)|self-titled EP]] was released in November 1990 and received praise from music critics.<ref name = "BUCKLEY_ROCK"/> ''Slowdive'' was actually their original demo; the band had preferred the older recordings after feeling disillusioned with their studio craft.<ref name = "WATSON_4A">Watson (2005a), p. 4</ref> In a glowing recommendation, ''[[NME]]'' staff member Simon Williams wrote "Slowdive have banished the barrier restricting creativity... When they really relax, Slowdive can make [[Cocteau Twins]] sound like [[Mudhoney]]". ''[[Melody Maker]]'' awarded the EP its "Single of the Week" award, an accolade the band's next two EPs received.<ref name = "WATSON_4A"/>

Drummer Neil Carter joined from fellow Reading band the Colour Mary in time to play on the ''Morningrise'' EP,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tenementtv.com/news/slowdive-celebrate-25th-anniversary-with-live-version-of-avalyn/|title=Slowdive celebrate 25th anniversary with live version of 'Avalyn'|website=Tenement TV}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/slowdive-mn0000030431/biography|title=Slowdive - Biography & History|website=[[AllMusic]]}}</ref> but left prior to its release in February 1991.<ref name = "ALLMUSIC_MORNING">{{cite web | url = {{AllMusic|class=album|id=r350636|pure_url=yes}} | title = ''Morningrise'' review | author = Kellman, Andy | website = [[AllMusic]] | access-date = 2009-08-22}}</ref> Simon Scott took over on drums after his previous group, an alternative rock band called [[the Charlottes]], broke up.<ref name = "ALLMUSIC_CHARLOTTES">{{cite web | url = {{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p199366|pure_url=yes}} | title = The Charlottes biography | author = Kellman, Andy | website = [[AllMusic]] | access-date = 2009-08-22}}</ref> The ''Holding Our Breath'' EP followed in June 1991,<ref name = "ALLMUSIC_BREATH"/> reaching No. 52 in the [[UK Albums Chart]],<ref name = "NME_BIO"/> while the single "Catch the Breeze" topped the [[UK Independent Singles and Albums Charts|UK Indie Chart]].<ref name = "ALLMUSIC_BREATH">{{cite web | url = {{AllMusic|class=album|id=r465314|pure_url=yes}} | title = ''Holding Our Breath'' review | author = Kellman, Andy | website = [[AllMusic]] | access-date = 2009-08-22}}</ref>

===1991–1992: ''Just for a Day''===
By mid-1991, Slowdive had been tagged a "shoegazing" band and part of "[[Shoegaze#The Scene That Celebrates Itself|the scene that celebrates itself]]" by the British media.<ref name = "BUCKLEY_ROCK"/> The term shoegazer was applied to bands that followed [[My Bloody Valentine (band)|My Bloody Valentine's]] example of abrasive guitars and ethereal vocals,<ref name = "ALLMUSIC_SHOEGAZE">{{cite web | url = {{AllMusic|class=explore|id=style/d2680|pure_url=yes}} | title = Shoegaze | author = | website = [[AllMusic]] | access-date = 2009-08-22}}</ref> while "the scene" represented these like-minded groups and their social behaviour; shoegazers typically mingled at each other's gigs.<ref name = "ALLMUSIC_BIO">{{cite web | url = {{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p14294|pure_url=yes}} | title = Slowdive biography | author = Kellman, Andy | website = [[AllMusic]] | access-date = 2009-08-22}}</ref> Slowdive toured with other shoegazing bands through summer 1991. The British music press became increasingly derisive of shoegazing as the [[Britpop]] and [[grunge]] movements came underway.<ref name = "ALLMUSIC_BIO"/><ref name = "BUCKLEY_ROCK"/>

Production on Slowdive's debut commenced shortly after Halstead convinced [[Alan McGee]], head of Creation Records, that the band had enough songs written for a full-length album, which was not actually true. The group hurriedly wrote songs in the studio. Experimentation with sounds and [[Cannabis (drug)|cannabis]] occurred during the process. Halstead drew lyrical inspiration from the abstract nature of the music. He recounted, "[We] went into a studio for six weeks and had no songs at the start and at the end we had an album".<ref name = "WATSON_4A"/>

Their debut, ''[[Just for a Day]]'', was released in September 1991 and placed in the top 10 on the UK Indie Chart.<ref name = "ALLMUSIC_BIO"/> ''NME'' gave the record a positive review,<ref name = "WATSON_6A"/> but most of the press generally disliked the album as a backlash against shoegazing began.<ref name = "ALLMUSIC_BIO"/> As writer Peter Buckley put it, the album was "dismissed as dreary and lacking in ideas".<ref name = "BUCKLEY_ROCK"/> ''Melody Maker'' writer Paul Lester railed against the debut, calling it a "major fucking letdown".<ref name = "WATSON_6A">Watson (2005a), p. 6</ref> This backlash worsened when critics reevaluated shoegazing after the release of My Bloody Valentine's ''[[Loveless (album)|Loveless]]'' in November 1991.<ref name = "BUCKLEY_ROCK"/>

A tour of the United Kingdom followed in autumn 1991. Afterward, the group made their first visit to the United States and toured with [[alternative rock]] band [[Blur (band)|Blur]]. A tour of Europe followed in February 1992.<ref name = "WATSON_2B">Watson (2005b), p.2</ref> Slowdive's US label [[SBK Records]] planned to release ''Just for a Day'' at the beginning of the year, but not before initiating a [[viral marketing]] campaign. The band's name was stenciled outside [[MTV]] and radio stations in [[New York City|New York]]. Fans stencilled their heads when Slowdive played in [[Manhattan]]. The campaign caused some controversy when a statue celebrating the end of slavery was unveiled and had the word "Slowdive" stencilled on it. SBK eventually pushed the release date back three months, which hurt the viral campaign.<ref name = "WATSON_4B">Watson (2005b), p. 4</ref>

===1992–1994: ''Souvlaki''===
{{listen|
 | filename    = Slowdive - When the Sun Hits (Sample).ogg
 | title       = Slowdive: "When the Sun Hits"
 | description = from the band's second studio album ''[[Souvlaki (album)|Souvlaki]]'' (1993)
}}
While they toured in early 1992 to support ''[[Blue Day]]'',<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.creation-records.com/ride-going-blank-again-20th-anniversary/|title=Celebrating 20 years of Ride's Going Blank Again – Creation Records|first=Stewart|last=Nash|website=creation-records.com|date=30 March 2012 }}</ref> a re-release of their early EP material, the band began writing songs for a follow-up album, but the negative coverage Slowdive received in the press affected their songwriting. "[It] did affect us as we were all teenagers at the time", said Scott in a 2009 interview, "[We] couldn't understand why people were so outraged by our sound that they had to tell the ''NME'' or whoever that they wanted us dead!"<ref name = "DIS_SCOTT">{{cite magazine | url = http://drownedinsound.com/in_depth/4136609 | title = Shoegaze Week: DiS talks to Simon Scott about his time in Slowdive | author = Gourlay, Dom | magazine = [[Drowned in Sound]] | date = 2009-04-23 | access-date = 2009-08-23 | archive-date = 26 April 2009 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090426223117/http://drownedinsound.com/in_depth/4136609 | url-status = dead }}</ref> Approximately 40 songs were recorded and rerecorded as the group became very self-conscious of their writing and how it might be received. When McGee listened to the new material, he subsequently dismissed it, stating, "They're all shit". The band discarded all the music and started over.<ref name = "WATSON_4B"/> In a 2009 interview, Halstead vividly recalled the incident: "I remember going to start the record in a studio in [[Bath, Somerset|Bath]]. [[Spiritualized]] had just been there and left a huge [[Scalextric]] in the live room. I remember thinking this was the height of indulgence! Ironically we scrapped everything we recorded...we had to start the record again back in [[Oxfordshire]]. We should have just played with the Scalextric for a month".<ref name = "DIS_HALSTEAD">{{cite magazine | url = http://drownedinsound.com/in_depth/4136653-shoegaze-week--dis-meets-neil-halstead | title = Shoegaze Week: DiS meets Neil Halstead | author = Gourlay, Dom | magazine = [[Drowned in Sound]] | date = 2009-04-22 | access-date = 2009-08-23 | archive-date = 10 November 2010 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20101110212116/http://drownedinsound.com/in_depth/4136653-shoegaze-week--dis-meets-neil-halstead | url-status = dead }}</ref>

When the band returned to the UK, they wrote a letter to [[Ambient music|ambient]] visionary [[Brian Eno]] and requested he produce their second studio album. Eno responded and told them he liked their music, but wanted to collaborate, not produce.<ref name = "WATSON_4B"/> Halstead later called the recording session "one of the most surreal stoned experiences of [his] life".<ref name = "DIS_HALSTEAD"/> "The first thing he did when he walked into the studio was to rip the clock off the wall and put it by the [[Mixing console|mixing desk]]", Halstead remembered. "He then said 'Okay, you're going to play the guitar and I'm going to record it. I don't care what you are going to play, just play something.{{'"}} Two songs from the collaboration appeared on the ensuing album: "Sing", which was co-written with Eno, and "Here She Comes", where Eno played keyboards.<ref name = "WATSON_4B"/>

Creation Records wanted Slowdive to produce a commercial-sounding album.<ref name = "DIS_BIO">{{cite magazine | url = http://drownedinsound.com/in_depth/4136640-shoegaze-week--slowdive--ecstasy-without-the-clubbing | title = Shoegaze Week: Slowdive: "ecstasy without the clubbing" | author = Tudor, Alexander | magazine = [[Drowned in Sound]] | date = 2009-04-23 | access-date = 2009-08-23 | archive-date = 7 November 2010 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20101107012100/http://drownedinsound.com/in_depth/4136640-shoegaze-week--slowdive--ecstasy-without-the-clubbing | url-status = dead }}</ref> Halstead agreed: "We wanted to make a 'pop' record but it took a while to record".<ref name = "DIS_HALSTEAD"/> At one point, Halstead suddenly left in summer 1992, seeking seclusion in a Welsh cottage. Savill, Chaplin and Scott were left in a recording studio in [[Weston-super-Mare]], and while waiting for Halstead's return, recorded some "joke songs". To their misfortune, McGee acquired them and became despondent, by which time Halstead had arrived with new music, including "Dagger" and "40 Days".<ref name = "WATSON_4B"/> The band named their second studio album ''[[Souvlaki (album)|Souvlaki]]'' after a skit performed by [[the Jerky Boys]], an American comedy duo that recorded [[Prank call|prank phone calls]].<ref name = "WATSON_2B"/>

''Souvlaki'' was released in May 1993 alongside the EP ''[[Outside Your Room]]'',<ref name = "BUCKLEY_ROCK"/> a few months after [[Suede (band)|Suede]] released their [[Suede (album)|popular debut]] and the Britpop movement began.<ref name = "WATSON_6B">Watson (2005b), p. 6</ref> Critical reaction, as with their previous album, was generally negative. ''NME'' writer John Mulvey gave an ambivalent review. Despite noting their dated and "unfulfilling" sound, he did call it an "exemplary product". Dave Simpson, writing for ''Melody Maker'', declared, "[This] record is a soulless void [...] I would rather drown choking in a bath full of porridge than ever listen to it again".<ref name = "WATSON_6B"/> To make matters worse, Slowdive booked a tour with fellow shoegazers [[Catherine Wheel (band)|Catherine Wheel]] for a tour of the United States, only to find SBK had pushed the album's US release date back eight months. The band recorded an EP, titled ''5 EP'', and started a modest tour through Europe with dream pop band [[Cranes (band)|Cranes]]. Scott was unhappy with the gap between releases and quit the band in 1994.<ref name = "WATSON_2C">Watson (2005c), p. 2</ref>

A marketing campaign was started in early 1994 to promote ''Souvlaki'' in the United States, which ''[[AllMusic]]'' writer Andy Kellman said would "undoubtedly go down in industry history as one of the laziest ever"; SBK sent fans a release flyer and were told that if they copied and posted 50 flyers around town, they would receive a free copy of ''Souvlaki''. Fans who participated had to document their progress with photographs to prove they performed the activity.<ref name = "ALLMUSIC_BIO"/> Halfway through the ''Souvlaki'' US tour, SBK pulled their funding and left Slowdive to pay the rest themselves. In 1994, the band funded two small tours of the United States using money raised through the sale of a live tape and a tour programme that mocked the record label.<ref name = "WATSON_2C"/>

===1994–1995: ''Pygmalion''===
Scott was replaced on drums by Ian McCutcheon. By the recording of their third and then-final studio album, ''[[Pygmalion (album)|Pygmalion]]'', Halstead had moved Slowdive away from the dreamy guitar sound and warm yet solemn tone of earlier releases to a newer, more minimalist extreme, similar to heavily ambient bands such as [[Seefeel]], [[A.R. Kane]] and [[Labradford]].

Slowdive were dropped by Creation a week after the release of ''Pygmalion'' (as were [[Swervedriver]] not long after).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/thepitch/1484-slowdive-on-their-first-album-in-22-years-and-why-shoegaze-came-back|title=Slowdive on Their First Album in 22 Years and Why Shoegaze Came Back|date=10 April 2017|website=[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]|access-date=3 May 2021}}</ref>

===1995–2014: Post-Slowdive endeavours===
Shortly after being dropped by Creation, Halstead, Goswell and McCutcheon recorded an album of country-influenced songs, and were signed to label [[4AD]], changing the band name to [[Mojave 3]] to reflect the new musical direction. This group is currently on hiatus.

Drummer Scott went on to form Televise, taking the ambient shoegazing sound and pushing it into electronic fields similar to [[Fennesz]]. He joined [[Lowgold]] in 1999. Scott later went on to release solo records on the [[12k]], Miasmah, Sonic Pieces and [[Kompakt]] labels, and co-write and perform with [[Ghostly International]]-signed Seattle band [[the Sight Below]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fluid-radio.co.uk/2009/09/navigare/ |title=Navigare Review |publisher=Fluid Radio |access-date=2012-04-25 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100204075439/http://www.fluid-radio.co.uk/2009/09/navigare/ |archive-date=4 February 2010}}</ref>

Savill went on to form [[Monster Movie (band)|Monster Movie]], a dream pop group that maintained much of the older Slowdive style. They have released four studio albums and an EP to date. Pre-Slowdive, Savill was in a band called Eternal, which also included Monster Movie member Sean Hewson.

Halstead and Goswell have both released solo studio albums on 4AD, and Halstead formed the side project Black Hearted Brother in 2013.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.popmatters.com/176816-black-hearted-brother-stars-are-our-home-2495705453.html|title=Black Hearted Brother: Stars Are Our Home|date=16 January 2014|website=[[PopMatters]]}}</ref> Goswell joined the supergroup [[Minor Victories]] in 2015.

Halstead also recorded with a side project called Zurich with members of [[Seefeel]] and Knives ov Resistance; the trio's sole studio album was released in 2009.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.discogs.com/Zurich-Zurich/master/231294|title=Zurich – Zurich|website=Discogs|date=2 October 2023 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.tinymixtapes.com/news/important-records-announces-upcoming-lps-by-ashley-paul-zurich-aidan-baker-and-mugstar-damo-suz|title=Important Records announces upcoming LPs by Ashley Paul, Zurich, Aidan Baker, and Mugstar + Damo Suzuki|website=Tiny Mix Tapes}}</ref>

===2014–present: Reunion and new albums===
[[File:Slowdive Primavera.jpg|thumb|right|Slowdive performing at [[Primavera Sound]] 2014]]
After a Slowdive [[Twitter]] account and website were launched in January 2014,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.stereogum.com/1634581/are-slowdive-reuniting/news/ |title=Are Slowdive Reuniting? |website=Stereogum |date=20 January 2014 |access-date=2014-01-25}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://twitter.com/slowdiveband |title=Slowdive |website=Twitter|access-date=2014-01-25}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.slowdiveofficial.com/ |title=Slowdive|website=Slowdiveofficial.com |access-date=2014-01-25}}</ref> it was announced that Slowdive had re-formed to play the 2014 [[Primavera Sound]] festival in [[Barcelona]] and [[Porto]].<ref name="slowdiveofficial.com">{{cite web |title=Slowdive |url=http://www.slowdiveofficial.com/ |website=Slowdiveofficial.com}}</ref> A 20-date summer world tour was announced, including performances at the [[Electric Picnic]] festival in [[Stradbally]], [[County Laois]]; the [[FYF Fest]] in Los Angeles; the Fortress Festival in [[Fort Worth]], Texas; the [[Wave-Gotik-Treffen]] festival in [[Leipzig]]; the [[Roskilde Festival]] in Denmark;<ref>{{cite web|title=Slowdive plays instead of Chromeo at Roskilde 2014|date=26 June 2014|url=http://roskilde-festival.dk/news/singlenews/slowdive-plays-instead-of-chromeo-at-roskilde-2014/#12QexYPH6OubTZD8.97|website=Roskilde-festival.dk}}</ref> the Radar Festival in [[Italy]] and the [[Off Festival]] in [[Katowice]], Poland. A North American tour, also 20 dates, was announced for October and November 2014.<ref>{{cite web|title=North American Tour 2014|date=30 July 2014|url=http://www.slowdiveofficial.com/uncategorized/north-american-tour-2014/|website=Slowdiveofficial.com}}</ref> Former drummer Simon Scott returned to the band for the reunion. Ian McCutcheon, the band’s final drummer prior to their break-up, who had later joined Halstead and Goswell in Mojave 3, did not return.

In January 2017, Slowdive released "Star Roving", their first single in 22 years, on [[Dead Oceans]].<ref>{{cite web|last1=Minsker|first1=Evan|title=Listen to Slowdive's First New Track in 22 Years, "Star Roving"|url=http://pitchfork.com/news/70836-listen-to-slowdives-first-new-track-in-22-years-star-roving|website=Pitchfork.com|date=12 January 2017|access-date=13 January 2017}}</ref> Their self-titled fourth studio album, ''[[Slowdive (album)|Slowdive]]'', was released in May 2017, preceded by another single, "Sugar for the Pill".<ref>{{cite web|last1=Slowdive|title= new album announcement {{!}} Slowdive |url=http://www.slowdiveofficial.com/uncategorized/new-album-announcement/|website=slowdiveofficial.com|access-date=28 March 2017}}</ref>

[[File:WideAwake250524 (156 of 209) (53748686743).jpg|thumb|Slowdive performing at Wide Awake Festival in May 2024]]
In September 2020, Slowdive announced they had begun work on their fifth studio album.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nme.com/en_asia/news/music/slowdive-drop-hints-that-album-number-five-is-on-the-way-2757824|title=Slowdive drop hints that album number five is on the way|publisher=[[NME]]|date=21 September 2020|access-date= 25 October 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.brooklynvegan.com/slowdive-are-in-the-studio-working-on-fifth-album/|title=Slowdive are in the studio working on fifth album |publisher=[[Brooklyn Vegan]]|date=18 September 2020|access-date= 25 October 2020}}</ref> In April 2023, the band confirmed on a podcast that they had finished their new album.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Richards |first=Will |date=2023-04-15 |title=Slowdive have finished their new album |url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/slowdive-have-finished-their-new-album-3430606 |access-date=2023-04-16 |website=NME |language=en-GB}}</ref> The lead single, "Kisses", was released on 20 June 2023, and later that month the band played the [[Glastonbury Festival]] for the first time.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kress |first=Bryan |date=2023-06-20 |title=Slowdive announce new album everything is alive, 2023 tour dates |url=https://consequence.net/2023/06/slowdive-everything-is-alive-2023-tour-dates/ |access-date=2023-06-20 |website=Consequence |language=en-US}}</ref> The album's second single, "Skin in the Game", was released on 18 July 2023, followed by "The Slab" and "Alife" in August, and the album ''[[Everything Is Alive (album)|Everything Is Alive]]'' was released on 1 September 2023. It became the band's first top ten album in any country, doing so in Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.

==Influences and style==
Music journalist [[Simon Reynolds]] wrote that "Halstead was more influenced by [[Pink Floyd]] than by the [[Sex Pistols]]. Slowdive's formative pop experiences involve post-punk groups like [[the Cure]] and [[Siouxsie and the Banshees]], whose artsy approach was closer to '70s progressive groups than punk's angry minimalism".<ref name="rey">{{cite news |last=Reynolds |first=Simon |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/12/01/arts/pop-view-dream-pop-bands-define-the-times-in-britain.html |title=Dream-Pop' Bands Define the Times in Britain |newspaper=The New York Times |date=1 December 1991 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203054651/https://www.nytimes.com/1991/12/01/arts/pop-view-dream-pop-bands-define-the-times-in-britain.html |access-date=3 March 2014|archive-date=3 December 2013 }}</ref> Halstead stated that Slowdive wanted "to create something big and beautiful and sort of timeless".<ref name="rey" /> Other names he and Goswell mentioned were [[David Bowie]], [[the Byrds]], [[the Rolling Stones]], [[Cocteau Twins]], [[My Bloody Valentine (band)|My Bloody Valentine]] and [[the Jesus and Mary Chain]]'s debut studio album, ''[[Psychocandy]]'' (1985).<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c96YmrLSIaE&t=127s Slowdive audio interview in Berlin December 1991]. Youtube. Retrieved 1 May 2015</ref> Bassist Nick Chaplin's favorite band is the Cure, which also manifested in Slowdive's music.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |last=Martin |first=Piers |date=2023-08-25 |title=Slowdive interviewed: "The destination was never really discussed or known" |url=https://www.uncut.co.uk/features/slowdive-interviewed-the-destination-was-never-really-discussed-or-known-143507/ |access-date=2023-09-01 |website=UNCUT |language=en-GB}}</ref>

Their sound has been described as [[shoegaze]],<ref>{{cite magazine | url=http://www.spin.com/2014/01/slowdive-reunion-tour-new-album-20-year/ | title=Slowdive End 20-Year Silence With Promise of Tour, Possible New Album | magazine=[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]] | date=29 January 2014 | access-date=14 April 2015 | author=McGovern, Kyle}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine | url=http://www.pastemagazine.com/blogs/lists/2014/01/five-reasons-slowdives-souvlaki-trumps-loveless.html | title=Five Reasons Slowdive's ''Souvlaki'' Trumps ''Loveless'' | magazine=[[Paste (magazine)|Paste]] | access-date=14 April 2015 | date=31 January 2014 | author=Schonfeld, Zach | archive-date=19 January 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160119141332/http://www.pastemagazine.com/blogs/lists/2014/01/five-reasons-slowdives-souvlaki-trumps-loveless.html | url-status=dead }}</ref> [[dream pop]],<ref>{{cite magazine | url=http://www.clashmusic.com/feature/mflow-dream-pop | title=MFlow - Dream Pop | magazine=[[Clash (magazine)|Clash]] | date=16 April 2010 | access-date=14 April 2015 | author=Murray, Robin}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XyoEAAAAMBAJ&q=Slowdive+%22dream+pop%22&pg=PA72 | title=A Different Tune: Greg Araki in his All Splendor | journal=[[CMJ]] |date=November 1999  | volume=88 | issue=75 | pages=72}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=k9KJt3F7IdUC&q=Slowdive+%22dream+pop%22&pg=PA26 | title=Mojave 3 | journal=[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]] |date=January 2001  | volume=124 | issue=17 | pages=28}}</ref> and [[Ambient music|ambient]].<ref>{{cite magazine | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gxInAQAAIAAJ&q=slowdive+ambient | title=Slowdive | magazine=[[The New Yorker]] | year=2003 | volume=79}}</ref>

== Legacy ==
[[File:Slowdive Fox Theater 2.jpg|thumb|Slowdive at the Fox Theater in Oakland, California, 2017]]
Slowdive were initially dismissed by the British independent music press. While reviews of the band's early extended plays were favorable,<ref>{{cite web |last=Kellman |first=Andy |title=Slowdive |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/slowdive-mn0000030431/biography |access-date=8 May 2021 |website=[[AllMusic]]}}</ref> Slowdive's reputation took a downturn with the release of their debut album, ''Just for a Day'', which received middling reviews from publications such as ''[[Melody Maker]]'' and ''[[Select (magazine)|Select]]''.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Lester |first=Paul |author-link=Paul Lester |date=31 August 1991 |title=Dive Bomb |magazine=[[Melody Maker]] |page=32}}</ref><ref name="Select">{{cite magazine |last=Maier |first=Dan |author-link=Daniel Maier |date=October 1991 |title=Slowdive: ''Just for a Day'' |magazine=[[Select (magazine)|Select]] |issue=16 |page=71}}</ref> In 1991, [[Richey Edwards]], guitarist and lyricist of [[Manic Street Preachers]], proclaimed: "We will always hate Slowdive more than [[Adolf Hitler|Hitler]]."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gourlay |first=Dom |date=2010-09-22 |title=DiS meets Nicky Wire: "Under New Labour, Britain became a giant call centre really..." |url=http://drownedinsound.com/in_depth/4141082-dis-meets-nicky-wire--under-new-labour-britain-became-a-giant-call-centre-really |access-date=2023-09-01 |website=DrownedInSound |language=en |archive-date=28 January 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130128205313/http://drownedinsound.com/in_depth/4141082-dis-meets-nicky-wire--under-new-labour-britain-became-a-giant-call-centre-really |url-status=dead }}</ref> Upon its release, ''Souvlaki'' was received similarly negatively; ''Melody Maker''<nowiki/>'s Dave Simpson infamously wrote, "I would rather drown choking in a bath full of porridge than ever listen to it again", three years after the publication praised the band's EPs for being "impossible, immaculate and serene".<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Simpson |first=Dave |date=12 June 1993 |title=Slowdive: ''Souvlaki'' |magazine=[[Melody Maker]] |location=London |page=30}}</ref><ref name="Pollard">{{Cite news |last=Pollard |first=Alexandra |date=2017-03-30 |title=The unlikely renaissance of Slowdive: 'Shoegaze became the genre of ridicule' |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2017/mar/30/the-unlikely-renaissance-of-slowdive-shoegaze-became-the-genre-of-ridicule |access-date=2023-09-01 |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>  The band theorised that they came across as too soft and feminine, and were overshadowed by the emergence of [[Britpop]] at the same time. Said Goswell of Britpop: "It was very [[Lad culture|laddy]]."<ref name="Pollard"/> About the band's initial poor reviews, Goswell said: "Within about a year of being in the industry, I became very disenchanted, because of the treatment that we got from this small amount of UK journalists. Obviously, they held a lot of power in this country at that point."<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=DiGiacomo |first=Frank |date=2023-08-30 |title=Slowdive's Rachel Goswell on the Band's New Album, Coping With Hearing Impairment & Her Hopes for Meeting Siouxsie Sioux |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/rock/slowdive-rachel-goswell-everything-is-alive-album-tour-1235403397/ |access-date=2023-09-01 |magazine=Billboard |language=en-US}}</ref> In 2004, ''[[The Independent]]'' referred to Slowdive as a "long-forgotten indie band".<ref>{{Cite web |date=2004-10-23 |title=Manic Street Preachers: Sublime and ridiculous |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/manic-street-preachers-sublime-and-ridiculous-545030.html |access-date=2023-09-01 |website=The Independent |language=en}}</ref>

The band's reputation was mended by critics throughout the 2010s, who acclaimed Slowdive as one of the best shoegaze bands.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=The 50 Best Shoegaze Albums of All Time - Page 5 |url=https://pitchfork.com/features/lists-and-guides/9966-the-50-best-shoegaze-albums-of-all-time/?page=5 |access-date=2022-09-02 |website=Pitchfork.com | date=24 October 2016 |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Beaumont |first=Mark |date=2017-01-06 |title=The 10 best shoegaze albums ever |url=https://www.nme.com/blogs/nme-blogs/ten-best-shoegaze-albums-ever-1936528 |access-date=2022-09-02 |website=NME |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite web |date=2020-11-12 |title=10 Essential Shoegaze Albums That Aren't 'Loveless'|author-first1=Andrew|author-last1=McDonald|url=https://www.popmatters.com/10-best-shoegaze-albums-2495726806.html |access-date=2022-09-02 |website=PopMatters |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-09-27 |title=The 250 Best Songs of the 1990s |url=https://pitchfork.com/features/lists-and-guides/the-best-songs-of-the-1990s/ |access-date=2023-09-01 |website=Pitchfork.com|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-09-28 |title=The 150 Best Albums of the 1990s |url=https://pitchfork.com/features/lists-and-guides/the-best-albums-of-the-1990s/ |access-date=2023-09-01 |website=Pitchfork.com|language=en-US}}</ref> Upon Slowdive's re-formation in 2014, the band began playing to larger crowds than they did during their initial run, and members realized that they were more famous and recognisable than ever before.<ref name=":4" /> Music writers noted Slowdive's modern popularity as part of shoegaze's revival in popularity with younger [[Millennials]] and [[Generation Z]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Toner |first=Paul |date=2021-04-27 |title=Gen Z Are Resurrecting Shoegaze for Their 'Bleak, Post-COVID World' |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/gen-z-shoegaze-comeback/ |access-date=2023-09-01 |website=Vice |language=en}}</ref>

==Personnel==
[[File:Neil Halsted Slowdive.jpg|thumb|upright=0.7|[[Neil Halstead]] at the Fox Theater in Oakland, California 2017]]
'''Members'''
* [[Neil Halstead]] – vocals, guitar, keyboards (1989–1995, 2014–present)
* [[Rachel Goswell]] – vocals, guitar, keyboards, tambourine (1989–1995, 2014–present)
* Nick Chaplin – bass (1989–1995, 2014–present)
* [[Christian Savill]] – guitar (1989–1995, 2014–present)
* [[Simon Scott (drummer)|Simon Scott]] – drums, percussion (1991–1994, 2014–present); guitar, electronics (2014–present)

'''Former members'''
* Adrian Sell – drums, percussion (1989–1990)
* Nick Carter – drums, percussion (1990–1991)
* Ian McCutcheon – drums, percussion (1994–1995)

'''Touring members'''
* Nicholas Willes – drums, percussion (2024)

==Discography==
{{Main|Slowdive discography}}
'''Studio albums'''
* ''[[Just for a Day]]'' (1991)
* ''[[Souvlaki (album)|Souvlaki]]'' (1993)
* ''[[Pygmalion (album)|Pygmalion]]'' (1995)
* ''[[Slowdive (album)|Slowdive]]'' (2017)
* ''[[Everything Is Alive (album)|Everything Is Alive]]'' (2023)

{{-}}

==References==
===Notes===
{{Reflist}}

===Bibliography===
{{Refbegin}}
* {{cite book | title = Just for a Day liner notes | author = Watson, Ian | publisher = [[Sanctuary Records]] | year = 2005a}}
* {{cite book | title = Souvlaki liner notes | author = Watson, Ian | publisher = [[Sanctuary Records]] | year = 2005b}}
* {{cite book | title = Pygmalion liner notes | author = Watson, Ian | publisher = [[Sanctuary Records]] | year = 2005c}}
{{Refend}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Slowdive}}
* {{Official website}}
* {{AllMusic|class=artist|id=mn0000030431}}
* {{discogs artist}}
* {{IMDb name|id=3164267}}
* [http://www.slowdivedatabase.com Slowdive Database] Gigography

{{Slowdive}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Creation Records artists]]
[[Category:English rock music groups]]
[[Category:British shoegaze musical groups]]
[[Category:British dream pop musical groups]]
[[Category:Musical groups from Reading, Berkshire]]
[[Category:Musical groups established in 1989]]
[[Category:Musical groups disestablished in 1995]]
[[Category:Musical groups reestablished in 2014]]
[[Category:SBK Records artists]]
[[Category:English indie rock groups]]
[[Category:Musicians from Berkshire]]
[[Category:Dead Oceans artists]]
[[Category:1989 establishments in England]]
[[Category:Mixed-gender bands]]
[[Category:Rock music groups from Berkshire]]