We started going into the studio in 2015. Doing the gigs was a really good way for us to do that. I think we felt we needed to build up some steam somehow before we went into any studio. We spent a year doing shows in 2014, and I think that was a good way for us to gain some momentum and to create some energy as a band starting from scratch 20 years after we’d done the last record. And I think there was always the thought, ‘Well, if it doesn’t really work out we can just sort of pretend it didn’t happen, and never talk about it again.’ But we didn’t really discuss the direction of the record. And I think that allowed us to do it without any kind of pressure.

We didn’t sign a record deal, we just went and did it ourselves without any kind of backing or anything. I think the only discussion we had was that we didn’t want it to be bad. What kind of discussions did you guys have, in terms of what you wanted the record to be-or not to be-as you were approaching the new music? But otherwise, it was still like us just working on music in a room together and trying to figure it out that way. But I guess the technology now is a lot more limber, and it allows you to do things a lot more easily. I mean, we were using quite basic sequences, and a sampler and stuff like that, ’cause that record has a lot of loops and stuff. The last time we’d recorded was with Pygmalion, and we were still recording on tape. We’re all used to using laptops and recording digitally now, but it was the first time we’d done it as Slowdive. I suppose the technology’s a bit different now. Weirdly enough, it didn’t feel hugely different the way we all work together is kind of similar. What was the biggest difference making the record this time around, as opposed to making records during your original tenure?

We all felt we wanted to play together again, but we wanted to have it as a creative outlet as well as playing the old stuff. But for all of us, we have different things going on, and different projects. I don’t necessarily have a problem with that, as a fan of music. If you do that, then it’s a nostalgia act, and you’re trading on past glories. We wanted it to be a creative thing, not just a case of going out, playing the old songs, and then either finishing or not doing anything else. It was really important for us to do a record and have that as a goal. Neil Halstead: It was definitely part of the deal when we all talked about getting back together. When you guys decided to reunite, was doing a new record always in the cards, or was it a wait-and-see situation? Pre-order buy pre-order buy you own this wishlist in wishlist go to album go to track go to album go to track Neil Halstead checked in from the UK about the band’s second act, what it’s like making a Slowdive record in 2017, and why he’s pleased with shoegaze’s widespread influence. Slowdive deconstructs shoegaze and builds new sonic signifiers from the remnants.

The biting guitars on the urgent “Star Roving” roar like cyclones the Low-like “Falling Ashes” features chilly, autumnal piano and haunted, twinned harmonies from Goswell and frontman Neil Halstead and the mournful “Sugar for the Pill” is cobweb-draped dreampop, highlighted by Halstead’s conspiratorial vocals. But Slowdive isn’t a continuation of the band’s ’90s work as much as it’s the start of an entirely new chapter. “Don’t Know Why” and “Everyone Knows”-both of which highlight singer-guitarist Rachel Goswell’s powdered-sugar vocals, shimmer atop gossamer guitars-are a wink to the band’s classic sound. Using this positive response as an anchor, Slowdive slowly but surely crafted a new, self-titled record, their first since 1995’s Pygmalion. Not only was the band an in-demand live act, but its fan base was larger than it was during their first go-round in the ’90s, and just as supportive. When UK shoegaze legends Slowdive reunited in 2014, the group witnessed firsthand what many older-generation artists have discovered in recent years: Breaking up and getting back together after years away from the spotlight is a great career move.

Slowdive souvlaki bandcamp