Slowdive
Catch The Breeze

THE REVIEW

Slowdive were one of the best bands of the '90s, as talented as they were overlooked. This is the conclusion one reaches after listening to "Catch The Breeze", the double anthology that showcases the highest moments of their short but dazzling career. "Impressionist rock" as some critics have called it.
Their music was a slow-motion psychedelic rock, made of ethereal and intangible melodies weaving through dreamlike distortions and oceanic reverbs. Dream pop and shoegaze. Cocteau Twins and My Bloody Valentine. These are the reference points. But do not think of them as a carbon-copy group of these bands. Quite the opposite. Slowdive were among the most original groups of their musical scene; they never basked in their talent, but always sought to push further, to find other paths, other sounds.
 The 25 tracks presented in this collection are all remarkable little gems: heart-stopping melodies with eyes fixed on the distortion pedal, in "Morningrise", "Catch The Breeze", "40 Days", "When The Sun Hits"; hieratic and gloomy tracks that brush against darkness like "Avalyn I", "So Tired", "Melon Yellow"; the sidereal vortex of "Souvlaki Space Station"; the ambient-rock of "Albatross" and "Golden Hair", a cover of a Syd Barrett track. Even the final phase of the band's career is not neglected: rarefied and atmospheric tracks like "Blue Skied An'Clear", "Crazy For You" and "J's Heaven" regain their timeless splendor here.
Justice is served for one of the best English bands of the last 20 years, Slowdive.