Twenty-two years after their last full-length transmission, UK shoegaze icons Slowdive returned in 2017 with a self-titled fourth opus that feels less like a "trip down memory lane" and more like a bold new "stargazing alchemy." Birthed at their talismanic Oxfordshire haunt, The Courtyard, the album was born from the revitalized energy of the band’s reunion tour. While principal songwriter Neil Halstead initially steered the ship, the record evolved into a true group effort, recapturing a vibrant dynamic that drummer Simon Scott compares to the legendary energy of Souvlaki. The result is an eight-track collection of "diamantine melodies" that are simultaneously expansive and the band's most direct material to date. Mixed to a hypnotic sheen by Chris Coady (Beach House, Future Islands) at Los Angeles’ famed Sunset Sound, the album balances the ambient experimentation of Pygmalion with what Halstead describes as a "poppier" sensibility. From the soaring, motorik drive of "Star Roving" to the shimmering, classic beauty of "Sugar for the Pill," the album beguiled a legion of fresh ears while proving the band’s relevance in the modern era.
