SOUVLAKI is the second album released by english shoegaze band slowdive, in 1993. But is it good?
Souvlaki is considered to be one of the greatest shoegaze albums of all time by indie rock aficionados, and just one of the best albums full stop, matching MBV's Loveless. So to say I has high expectations going in would be an understatement.
And even from first track ALISON, I had an inkling I wouldn't be disappointed. The atmosphere is instantly dreamy, Neil Halstead's vocals are youthful and angsty, and when the chorus hits, man does it hit: the sonic landscape is otherwordly as Neil narrates this fucked up, drug fueled relationship, and the end is just spectacular. You couldn't really ask for a better opener.
Second track MACHINE GUN introduces Rachel Goswell's angelic vocals that ride these waves of phase, I can hardly understand what she's saying but just the texture and interplay between her vocals and the instrumentals are incredible. Neil's chorus mentions drowning, which sort of encapsulates alot of the record, I heard someone say this album sounds like "pop music played far under the ocean" (or something like that), and I think the hazy atmosphere and the name "slowdive" really drive that home. The track has some acoustic guitar for texture too, which is nice.
40 DAYS has a very MBV guitar tone and feel, and continues themes of drugs and relationships, though this is apparently after Neil had broken up with Rachel- the opening line of "40 days and I miss you" hinting at this. The track is similarly dreamy, with this ringing treble guitar at the end. Another great track.
SING is totally drugged out, it's got loads of psychedelic flourishes, the drums are slow and stompy. The whole track feels like you're sitting back and watching the world go by, with the drums and Rachel's vocals mixed as if they're in another room for alot of the song. The textures here are just fantastic. Next track HERE SHE COMES is kind of a total opposite, it's a folky indie rocker ballad about loneliness, the stripped back instrumental sort of emphasising this.
SOUVLAKI SPACE STATION is totally different. It hardly wastes any time creating layers and layers of delayed guitar, and it really does evoke a feeling of blasting off into space.
I think the lyrics are about leaving a relationship and not wanting anything to do with it, and not to think about it, with the whole space station thing being kind of a metaphor for wanting to leave and then a hyperbolic representation of the desired solitude (god that sounded wanky). That being said the track does get kind of samey after a while, I dont know if it had to be the whole 6 minutes long, but the effects are cool. Last few seconds sound like radiohead too.
WHEN THE SUN HITS is kind of colloquially known as one of the goat shoegaze songs and It's not hard to see why. The song is spellbinding from the first few notes, and only gets better from there. The song has this pixies-esque loud/quiet thing and when the chorus hits it's just incredible, the guitars sound great and Neil's vocals just tie the whole thing together. I genuinely cannot fault a second of it.
ALTOGETHER is kind of a dud in the tracklist. Not a bad track, but the "yeah, yeah, yeah" at the end of the verses feel pretty played out after the first one. The track has this chorus of claps that come and go and add to this sort of drowsey atmosphere, but after listening to it for 3:41 I dont really feel like I've gained a whole lot.
MELLON YELLOW is littered with these cool reverse effects, alot of this track has alot of post punk influences a la Joy Division, with some of the ghostly melodies and bassy drum sounds. The Rushes of sound around Neil's vocals in the chorus create a really great atmosphere too. I wish it amounted to a little more but the track has a really unique sound on this album.
Final track DAGGER is an acoustic ballad in the purest sense of the word. The acoustic guitar here is immediate, and the distant single piano key that plays on loop create a great atmosphere. Neil's songwriting is pained, describing himself as a "dagger", and as someone's "wound". It's a surprisingly intimate ending to an album that's been comfortable at a distance for most of it's runtime.
So yeh, it's safe to say I enjoyed the album quite alot. Definitely a few lulls but the washy sort of finish makes it easy to kind of tune out and just experience the music rather than listen to it. Did I like it more than Loveless? I'm not sure. Souvlaki isn't afraid to be more intimate, the lyrics are most angsty overall, and there's a greater range of texture, so maybe. But overall I really really like this album, and it'll probably be one of the first I buy when lockdown's over.
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