1994 SLOWDIVE's - Souvlaki: 8/10
For this weeks 'Melomaniacs' album, we selected Souvlaki, with the prompt being "Wintertime/Christmas", and while this album is far, far from being a Christmas album (you will find no cheery, cozy ballads here), I do stand by it having a blue wintry hue to it. Listening to this album with that lens, I find this to be an almost perfect album for our creepy snowless December we've been experiencing. The soundscapes that Slowdive invokes throughout this album goes from being like a snowflake in a blizzard, to being a beam of light travleing through space. You can hear the icy linings of a mountainous cave etched into the swelling and shrinking of re-verbing guitar, the sparkling use of the percussion, and the ghostlike vocals across the whole album. Anyway, thats enough of my winter interpretations of this album.
As far as Shoegaze goes, this is easily one of the most important albums when it comes to the genre. Slowdive adds a pop sensibility to the genre that I think many shoegaze bands could learn from (many have by 2025, partially because of this album I bet!). Right from the get go, 'Alison' subjects the listener to the dreamy atmosphere that is present throughout the album, although this song is a bit "brighter" compared to some of the haziness thats present on the album. 'Machine Gun' really ramps up the ghostly presence that's heard throughout the whole album, but the hazy keyboard and especially the vocal duet really brings this song to life, which is a stark contrast to the next track, '40 days' which, despite the haziness of the track, still feels warm and directed, but only if the direction is up, shit makes me levitate is what im tryna say. But by the next 2 tracks, 'Sing' and 'Here She Comes', I feel as though I have levitated too far and am now floating in the void, this is the part of the album that I think may be the most devastating, and cold.
This is a big part of why I think this album is so fantastic, it ebbs and flows as any good album should, but it does so in a beautiful and unique dance of warmth and cold, of love, and losing it. (Lore moment: losing love is a huge theme on the album as the two creative leads of the band, Neil Halstead and Rachel Goswell broke up right before beginning the creative process of this album). The energy picks back up on 'Souvlaki Space Station', if your still following my levitation analogy, no longer are you floating aimlessly in a hazy void as you were on the previous 2 tracks, this song is the energy picking back up, you are now accelerating through space, exploring the space between the Earth and the Moon. I love the echoy percussion on this track as well as the bass, which is in the drivers seat of the space station, while the guitars are left to beam the little warmth you would be receiving from the sun directly into your ears. The track stops, and suddenly you are back on Earth with 'When the Sun Hits', which is easily the climax of the album, feels like the sun landing on your face on a cold, wintry day. From there, the album begins its descent towards its conclusion. 'Altogether', as well as 'Melon Yellow' feels like they were conjured up in a weed-induced haze (which is how the album was created allegedly lol) the album is slowly winding down, until its final track (unless you listen to the CD or Spotify release where theres between 5-10 more songs) 'Dagger'. I can smell the stink of a snowy cigarette and feel the heartache in this track so poignantly, and the album ends modestly on this track.
Overall, Slowdive really did create an album that shines brighter than most with 'Souvlaki'. Even though I wouldn't call myself a Shoegazeguy, this album gives me an undeniable appreciation for the genre, and even more so for the band behind it. Im gonna give this album an 8/10, I think its a fantastic album but it does lose me at times (mostly with Sing, Here She Comes, and Melon Yellow). But once again Slowdive really did a lot for Shoegaze with their slightly more pop oriented take on the genre.
anyway thanks for reading byebye!!!!
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