By 1993, bands like Hood, Flying Saucer Attack, the Lilys, Lorelei, even Th’ Faith Healers and Eric’s Trip, were reimagining the genre. Within a year of Loveless, you realized you didn’t need £250,000 to release an album that sounded hazy and warped. Dinosaur Jr. was also as big an influence, on the bands that came immediately after. At the time, if you were into shoegaze, it was likely you were also being exposed to the early 90s ambient releases that Warp was putting out, not to mention that Too Pure had a huge impact. The spirit lived on but the palate expanded until it was no longer shoegaze. Like any genre, it stuck around just long enough.
Slowdive are fucking incredible live! Neil Halstead is a genius. The progression from 'Just For A Day' to 'Pygmalion' in just a few years is remarkable. 'Primal', 'She Calls' are incredible compositions, especially played live. Plus, it doesn't matter about their background. It's not where you're from, it's what you're doing, that's what matters. Incredible band
I think Swervedriver along with Catherine wheel in the genre were grunge friendly and later influenced bands like My Vitriol, Amusement Parks on Fire, Nothing, Cloakroom etc
That Chapterhouse sample could be used now by producers to add a bit of retro flavor. To me, that drum loop is evocative of a previous era that was looking toward the future.
I always loved Curve’s Cuckoo more than Doppelgänger. To me it was a more mature, diverse and layered record. Agree on the chasing the Electronica boom, they shouldn’t have done that.
Ok i did like a few swervedriver AND souvlaki but I will agree on the continuum that they were fringey “close enough”, for someone starved for the dreamy guts of Cocteaus /ride/MBV. I fucking loved curve tho -but again, mostly first 2 records.
Chris Ott is the pickiest music critic on the planet. He slaps the word "hate" on so many perfectly tolerable bands and albums that I've come to never use that judgment from him as a definite signal to avoid something. And it takes a lot for him to even just admit music as decent, so you learn to hear "C+" reviews as "this is worth checking out"
he was being facetious and hyperbolic there, his essay on mbv from around this same time shows he actually felt relatively warmly towards asobi seksu: "Lilys, Lorelei, the Swirlies, on through to 'new gaze' metropolitan indie acts in the 2000s like Asobi Seksu and Fleeting Joys…somehow Americans understood the immutable singularity of Loveless could never be diluted by imitation. Twenty-odd years later, we can still enjoy their harmless love letters, and say with certainty they were right to write them."
I like Slowdive but Pygmalion has always left me cold. To me, it's all sound and no songs. I love the shoegaze sound but I also insist on some traditional pop song structure. Just my opinion. I know people who put it in the all-time favorites list.
@@wp6007 i dunno, pygmalion doesn't seem that inaccessible to me. if you're into ambient and chill spacey psych it's cool. also there are definitely pop-oriented songs on there, like blue skied an' clear, which is one of their best songs. imo pygmalion is no more inaccessible (and maybe more accessible) than just for a day and their early eps which are extremely spacey/ambient/psychedelic--and probably their most underrated/unlistened to stuff for that reason. like if you can get into stuff like albatross (which i love btw) there's no reason you shouldn't enjoy pygmalion. also you've probably heard of it already if you're into this stuff, but quique by seefeel is a similar vibe but more upbeat to pygmalion. amazing album.
By 1993, bands like Hood, Flying Saucer Attack, the Lilys, Lorelei, even Th’ Faith Healers and Eric’s Trip, were reimagining the genre. Within a year of Loveless, you realized you didn’t need £250,000 to release an album that sounded hazy and warped. Dinosaur Jr. was also as big an influence, on the bands that came immediately after. At the time, if you were into shoegaze, it was likely you were also being exposed to the early 90s ambient releases that Warp was putting out, not to mention that Too Pure had a huge impact. The spirit lived on but the palate expanded until it was no longer shoegaze. Like any genre, it stuck around just long enough.
Slowdive are fucking incredible live! Neil Halstead is a genius. The progression from 'Just For A Day' to 'Pygmalion' in just a few years is remarkable. 'Primal', 'She Calls' are incredible compositions, especially played live. Plus, it doesn't matter about their background. It's not where you're from, it's what you're doing, that's what matters. Incredible band
He said pygmalion is an all-time top 5 shoegaze record, what more do you want
@@user-ct1ns6zw4z since when do you have to want something to consider a opinion to be fucking stupid
Fuck me, this is a great series. And those old NME broadsides were truly damning.
I think Swervedriver along with Catherine wheel in the genre were grunge friendly and later influenced bands like My Vitriol, Amusement Parks on Fire, Nothing, Cloakroom etc
That Chapterhouse sample could be used now by producers to add a bit of retro flavor. To me, that drum loop is evocative of a previous era that was looking toward the future.
I always loved Curve’s Cuckoo more than Doppelgänger. To me it was a more mature, diverse and layered record. Agree on the chasing the Electronica boom, they shouldn’t have done that.
wait was Thursday supposed to be an example of plebgaze?
Ok i did like a few swervedriver AND souvlaki but I will agree on the continuum that they were fringey “close enough”, for someone starved for the dreamy guts of Cocteaus /ride/MBV. I fucking loved curve tho -but again, mostly first 2 records.
bums me out that lovesliescrushing are used as a put down in his commentary. bloweyelashwish and xuvetyn are trascendently good
Yeah I love those records, it’s like shoegaze folded in in itself
a bit miffed by that asobi seksu diss, citrus is a fantastic album and certainly not "c+"
Chris Ott is the pickiest music critic on the planet. He slaps the word "hate" on so many perfectly tolerable bands and albums that I've come to never use that judgment from him as a definite signal to avoid something. And it takes a lot for him to even just admit music as decent, so you learn to hear "C+" reviews as "this is worth checking out"
he was being facetious and hyperbolic there, his essay on mbv from around this same time shows he actually felt relatively warmly towards asobi seksu:
"Lilys, Lorelei, the Swirlies, on through to 'new gaze' metropolitan indie acts in the 2000s like Asobi Seksu and Fleeting Joys…somehow Americans understood the immutable singularity of Loveless could never be diluted by imitation. Twenty-odd years later, we can still enjoy their harmless love letters, and say with certainty they were right to write them."
What's the song in the beginning called
"Cinematheque" by San Diego's Camera Obscura not the Scottish band
@@dirkfvnk wonder if they all found out that the rest of the record basically sounds like Milemarker
I like Slowdive but Pygmalion has always left me cold. To me, it's all sound and no songs. I love the shoegaze sound but I also insist on some traditional pop song structure. Just my opinion. I know people who put it in the all-time favorites list.
Slowdive is awesome
Yeah it's not for everyone. You gotta tackle it like you tackle an avant garde jazz album
@@wp6007 no you don't
@@mmeditatio Okay, how do you?
@@wp6007 i dunno, pygmalion doesn't seem that inaccessible to me. if you're into ambient and chill spacey psych it's cool. also there are definitely pop-oriented songs on there, like blue skied an' clear, which is one of their best songs. imo pygmalion is no more inaccessible (and maybe more accessible) than just for a day and their early eps which are extremely spacey/ambient/psychedelic--and probably their most underrated/unlistened to stuff for that reason. like if you can get into stuff like albatross (which i love btw) there's no reason you shouldn't enjoy pygmalion.
also you've probably heard of it already if you're into this stuff, but quique by seefeel is a similar vibe but more upbeat to pygmalion. amazing album.
Why are you sat outside in the snow ? Are you homeless ?
Starflyer is much more than a C plus Shoegaze band.....
THANK YOU! Jason Martin is such a precious writer to me.
what's the outro song
Duel by Swervedriver
...and he doesn't like Swervedriver or Slowdive - well...like...huh?
+Bobby McBride he straight up said Pygmalion is a great album
I liked this guy until he dissed Slowdive.