As gaps between Slowdive gigs go, three years is but a blink of an eye given the band previously went on hiatus for twenty years from 1994 until reforming in 2014.
But the last three years have been very out of the ordinary to say the least and the buzz flying around on social media ahead of this “blink and you missed it” sold out gig has descended on Bath along with a less welcome downpour to drench the expectant queue winding up the street outside Komedia before the doors have even opened.
Formed in the late 1980s by school friends Neil Halstead and Rachel Goswell on vocals and guitars with Christian Savill, Nick Chaplin and Simon Scott on guitar, bass and drums respectively, and signed by Creation, Slowdive were lumped in by the music media with label mates My Bloody Valentine and Ride amongst others in the “shoegaze” scene. Initially hyped up by the music press on the back of early EPs and live gigs, by the time their first two albums, Just For A Day and Souvlaki, were released in the 1991 and 1993 a backlash in the media and a record label focus on new signings Oasis and the arrival of Britpop saw Slowdive quietly fade away with one final release, third album Pygmalion, showing a much more electronic and ambient direction.
The subsequent years saw numerous other releases and projects from band members, notably Mojave 3 that Halstead and Goswell formed post-Slowdive, whilst the “shoegaze” genre once derided quietly regained momentum and credibility through the 2000s aided by smaller labels such as Sonic Cathedral putting out releases from bands building on the influences and legacy of Slowdive, Ride et al. It is apt that Nat from Sonic Cathedral is present in Bath as pre-gig DJ given his impact on pushing this next generation of bands such as BDRMM, Sennen and Molly. Back in 2014 he was the one who asked/instigated/coerced Slowdive to reform for the label’s 10th Anniversary party, co-incidentally eight years to the day from this gig. And it’s a good thing he did. Not content to revisit past glories, in 2017 Slowdive released what must be one of the best comeback albums of recent times with their self-titled fourth LP to critical and fan acclaim. The presence in the audience of members of various bands who could cite Slowdive as an influence speaks volumes for how their peers view them.
Before the headline act though, it’s one of Sonic Cathedral’s newer generation that kick things off to an already packed Komedia (a lovely converted 1920s cinema), with Mildred Maude taking the blueprint and foundations laid down on their recent second album Sleepover, and reinventing it to create a twenty five minute long instrumental sonic journey. Familiar snippets of songs from the record emerge and disappear amidst a whirlwind of Matt Ashdown’s guitar embracing all manner of distortion, feedback and effect pedals, with bonus use of screwdriver, held down by a persistent groove from bassist Lee abetted by ebbs and thunderous crashes from drummer Louie. As an appetiser for the main course, the Cornish three piece are bang on the money.
And so the moment the crowd has been waiting for, three years on from their last live appearance in early 2019, the lights dim, the crowd roar and five familiar figures emerge on stage and the persistent opening notes of Slowdive, the eponymous track from their first EP (also called Slowdive – never let it be said they underuse the name), spill out into the waiting ears of 700 hooked gig-goers. The sound is immaculate and you would be hard pushed to know this is a band playing their first gig back. The set stays with the first EP in Avalyn before the sole representative from the debut album, Catch the Breeze, gives way to the soaring Star Roving from the 2017 comeback LP.
Expectations or hopes that the band may premiere new songs from LP5 that they have been recording on and off over the last year or so, and hopefully will release in 2023 are left dangling. A teasing introduction from Rachel of “We’ve never played this one before” does see a first ever live outing of unreleased (by Slowdive) song Sleep, a track that lurks in 1990s demo form in the usual places on the internet and was released in 1990 by guitarist Christian Savill’s pre-Slowdive band, Eternal (this can be found on the Graveface Records Bandcamp for anyone interested). Either side, the band stick mainly with songs from second album Souvlaki with a couple from Pygmalion, including the fantastic post-reformation version of Crazy for You (or Crazy for Loving on the setlist) which live is a much more muscular beast than the recorded version driven by Nick Chaplin’s bassline.
But it is the reworking of another song, and one not their own, that is arguably the highlight of any Slowdive gig. Their version of Syd Barrett’s Golden Hair has long been in the live set, the vague picked guitar intro notes interwoven with Goswell’s spine shivering vocals lure the listener in before the drums and bass join with a gentle groove and Halstead and Savill conjure up a magical storm for five minutes of pure sonic bliss. Each time you think they’ve reached a peak, they take it up notch with waves of guitar washing over and even triggering an outbreak of headbanging in the lower circle encouraged by pounding drums held together by the persistent bass.
If this is what heaven might sound like then measure me for a coffin right now.
As the battered senses process what has just passed, the four remaining members, Goswell having already left after her vocal, leave the stage only quickly to get re-summoned by the demanding crowd. The listed Dagger is dropped and it is straight into 40 Days, a fan favourite from the Souvlaki album, as the sole encore to bring things to a close and ring in the ears of the crowd dispersing into the thankfully now dry streets of Bath.
As for Slowdive, the festivals of Europe beckon to capture the hearts of many more fans happy to prove those early 1990s music journalists wrong before hopefully reconvening to add the finishing touches to that much anticipated fifth album. As Creation record label owner Alan McGee who signed Slowdive back in 1990 once commented after Slowdive reformed, “It’s nice to see the good guys win”. Too damn right it is Alan and long may they continue to do so.
Words and pictures: Geoff Shaw @gshawisme