At a glance
- Artist
- Slowdive
- Released
- 1 June 1993
- Label
- Creation Records
- Catalogue number
- crecd 139
- Format
- CD
- Country
- UK
- Tracks
- 10, 40:52
In the issue
Souvlaki paired Slowdive with Brian Eno, who contributed to two tracks, and met hostile reviews on release in 1993—only to be recognized later as one of shoegaze's essential records. Neil Halstead simply wrote Eno a letter asking to collaborate, and Eno said yes.
How it was made
In 1992, Slowdive recorded and scrapped 40 songs after Alan McGee told them "they're all shit." Demoralized, they retreated to Oxfordshire and started over. Then Neil Halstead wrote Brian Eno asking him to produce. Eno responded: he liked their music but wanted to collaborate, not produce. The session was surreal. Halstead later called it "one of the most surreal stoned experiences of my life." But the album's release coincided with peak backlash against shoegaze. The press had turned. Within three years, Slowdive would be dropped by Creation and broken up, not reuniting for 19 years.
Listen
Track list
- 1Alison3:53
- 2Machine Gun4:28
- 340 Days3:16
- 4Sing4:51
- 5Here She Comes2:21
- 6Souvlaki Space Station5:59
- 7When the Sun Hits4:47
- 8Altogether3:42
- 9Melon Yellow3:55
- 10Dagger3:38
The label
Alan McGee's Creation released the Jesus and Mary Chain's first single, "Upside Down," and went on to sign My Bloody Valentine, Ride and Slowdive, making it the scene's central label. Loveless's reported £250,000 budget nearly bankrupted it. McGee dropped My Bloody Valentine after Loveless and, as he turned toward Britpop and Oasis, dropped Slowdive after Pygmalion in 1995.
More by Slowdive in the issues
- Just for a Day1991
- Pygmalion1995