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CRITIC REVIEWS
90
Taking the cloud tunnel bliss of the best shoegaze and adding some pure pop pleasure, this is less cinema for the ears and more dream visions for the soul.
90
There’s a beautiful intensity at work here, that keeps bringing you back for more. This picks up pretty much where their fourth, self-titled album left off, but I promise you that it’s even better.
90
Second album of their second act focuses its gaze firmly on the future.
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1mo
85
If everything is alive is any indication, Slowdive are more interested in building on their legacy than resting on it.
85
Everything is alive may only contain eight tracks, but Slowdive manage to craft an album of profound beauty full of emotional heft, which encompasses sadness, joy, gratitude, and ultimately optimism.
85
The shoegaze pioneers find a new frontier on their fifth studio album.
84
The majesty comes with the myths that bloom through time, and our own knowledge of presence, even when the music’s over. Hard to categorise, and impossible to assess immediately, like all of Slowdive, everything is alive will ever blossom with time.
80
Slowdive are now hailed as top-tier masters of its moods, and while this new album works nobly to move things forward, with spells of uplift and hope and (on singles Kisses and Skin In The Game) an undercurrent of pop structure, it will also gratify those who just want to hear the big, layered, melancholy mood that the music also known as dream-pop delivers when it’s clicking.
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1w
80
Resurgent shoegazing veterans forge onwards with contemplative fifth.
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2w
80
everything is alive isn’t a definitive renovation of Slowdive’s sonic architecture, but a modern recontextualisation of it: a reinstatement of their true identity whose characteristics never shy away from distorted, multi-layered guitar thrashes and reverberated vocalisation.
80
everything is alive feels practically self-contained, like a Slowdive record blissfully unaware it is a Slowdive record, most likely for the better.
80
From the haunted guitars to the impressionist vocals, from the most spell-binding drones to the brisk tempos, this is a Slowdive album through and through.
80
Slowdive's second post-reunion album mines familiar territory, with familiarly beautiful results.
80
Every note Slowdive hits is water from the same lake as Souvlaki and Pygmalion; the reflections on the surface differ as the world around them changes, but the songs ripple with as much steady profoundness – and now, optimism – as anything that’s come before.
80
The album evolves the shoegaze band’s well-established sound with more electronic textures.
80
Reading shoegazers are not ready for heritage-act status.
1mo
80
Its magic resides in its ability to capture so many moods through luminous and languid instrumentation, and the simplicity in which they present the songs; allowing space for every component to breathe and leave a lasting impression on the listener.
1mo
80
Equally experimental and accessible, brimming over with aquatic atmosphere and pointed emotional feeling, and full of familiar joys and new surprises, everything is alive is the work of a group who are done reforming and have set their sights on brilliant evolution instead.
80
It very much gives off the sense that the slower gestations lead to the richest rewards.
80
The band perfected their blend of dreamy guitar noise washes and indecipherable lyrics decades ago, and the latest example has plenty of haunting beauty.
80
A fine return from the shoegaze doyens.
80
It seems like this is the band that today’s kids are drifting towards. Maybe they do have attention spans after all?
77
Since forming over three decades ago, the UK shoegaze band’s fifth album is the first to shoulder the weight of those years. The music is wispier, more skeletal, attuned to and aware of fading glories.
60
The form of shoegazing Slowdive helped define - and are sticking with - sounds delightfully fresh.
60
Evocative rather than vivid in a way that evokes Faith-era Cure’s greyscale atmospheres, Everything Is Alive is the sound of Slowdive still holding their impressive earthly form.
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1mo
60
The shoegaze veterans aren't sounding too shabby when they're not doing generic post-rock things.
I was DEAD wrong about my prediction for this album based on the singles, this thing is amazing. Also prayer remembered is a contender for SOTY.
Sitting on a train alone in the cold early morning in Slovakia, listening to this album is just an absolute vibe and a half. It's supposed to rain as well so that would make it even better. Train rides just enhance music like this every time. Just sitting here KRATERED AF (if you know what that means, u a legend) as the train gently passed by some ... read more
Ah shit I'm fucking floating.
I'm embarrassed to say that this is my introduction to the legendary shoegaze band Slowdive. They have been on my radar for a while now, But I haven't really had the chance to give them a proper listen. I've heard only one single off this album, Which is alife, And wasn't necessarily impressed. However, The full project positively surprised me.
everything is alive is dedicated to vocalist and guitarist Rachel Goswell’s mother and drummer Simon ... read more
Slowdive... one of the most iconic acts in regards to shoegaze music. A decade long career that spans 3 decades, ever since 1990 before eventually making their breakthrough in 1993 with their sophomore album Souvlaki, which I'll admit is my favourite album in the genre, which I described it as "a spellbinding experience that leaves you in a trance".
Even if I've yet to hear the rest of their discography, I still consider it impressive how they've maintained their sound all these ... read more
Some moments on this project are very striking, but most of its runtime is wasted on forgettable ambience. Everything Is Alive is by no means a bad record, though it does fall a bit flat in comparison to British legends Slowdive's other work.
I love most of the instrumentals on this album. Moments in which the band's recognisable layers of guitar feature bring an amazing sense of euphoria to the project. The vocals are also serviceable, and I wish that they had more appearances, as they could ... read more
As always a beautiful music by Slowdive. Psychedelic dream pop with shoegaze guitars. For me they can play like this forever
Slowdive have nothing to prove. As a band, I would say their enduring popularity in shoegaze is matched only by that of MBV, and in many ways they have endured even longer. In a time where shoegaze has made a serious comeback, Slowdive still manage to feel like one of the genre's most relevant acts. This continues on everything is alive, and though the album is probably their weakest, the five-piece's willingness to expand their sound and play with new dynamics is the reason why they still ... read more
![파란노을 [Parannoul] - After the Magic](https://cdn2.albumoftheyear.org/200x/album/516779-after-the-magic_1024.jpg)
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Track List
| 1 | shanty 5:47 | 87 |
| 2 | prayer remembered 4:46 | 78 |
| 3 | alife 4:38 | 83 |
| 4 | andalucia plays 6:41 | 74 |
| 5 | kisses 3:57 | 84 |
| 6 | skin in the game 3:52 | 81 |
| 7 | chained to a cloud 6:51 | 81 |
| 8 | the slab 5:10 | 85 |
Total Length: 41 minutes
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1w
ermmmmm i agree with anthony fantano!!!!! can we please tag this with fanderngo was corerct!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! please!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
2w
i'm wondering if brad taste will hate this and then make some cringy comparison to radiohead.
Added on: June 13, 2023