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Rating:
The musicians who stood with their heads bowed, careful not to miss any movement of their hands over their respective instruments, were called "shoegazers," which literally means "someone who gazes at their shoes."
We don't know if they really gazed at their shoes or something else, but no other name was as fitting as this one.
Slowdive were one of the major exponents of this new movement that struck Great Britain in the late eighties-early nineties.
Their rock is dreamy and decelerated, sometimes even hallucinogenic and psychedelic; their sound weaves dreamlike visions, settling deep within the soul, between the breath and the heartbeat.
This is the melody I would like to accompany me during reflections, thoughts, journeys of the mind... this is the music I want to hear when I am consumed by illusions.
Nine tracks of calm melancholy, always ready to emerge through tear-inducing feedbacks.
The whispered words of "Catch the Breeze" convey feelings of loss, depression, and dejection; "Ballad of Sister Sue" is heartrending...
The rest is difficult to describe in words, it must be listened to and experienced.
They had great class and great style (look at the cover), so much so that Brian Eno wanted to collaborate with them on their next album, the unforgettable "Souvlaki."
They did not radically change the way music was made, but they influenced many future generations.
Tracklist Lyrics Samples and Videos
01 Spanish Air (06:06)
Screams that seem unreal
Shouts follow the sins
There's nothing here for me now
The wind blows for as far as I can see
I long for the sun
The midland air
For all that I have
There's written in waves
I know that now
There's left to be seen
I know that I've lost him
I'm leaving here
Fastest knife a sign
Feels so far away
There's nothing here for me now
The clouds fly, so far
I'm lost there now
I long for the sun
The midland air
For all that I have
Is written in waves
And now that I know
Is left to be seen
And now that I've lost him
I'm leaving here
02 Celia's Dream (04:12)
She flies
She's gone to ride an angel's breath
Gone to taste a dream
And every time I call her
A shadow crawls away
But she takes
She laughs him all [...there is...]
And everything she owes me
She gives
She told me that she loved me
Love, just for a day
And all the time I feel her
I feel her fade away
But she takes
She gives him all the fakes
And everything feels good
And clouds like shadows pass
She's passing like a day
She takes
She gives him all the [...shadows...]
And everything feels good
And clouds like shadows pass
She's passing like a day
03 Catch the Breeze (04:21)
feels like all the days are gone
just catch the breeze
you know you've had your fun
rain washes waves down
and i, i want the world to cry
and i, i watch the winds you fly
you can't believe in everything
you can't believe it all
hey are you feeling something new
just watch the rain
it helps in all you do
the breeze it blows
it blows everything
and i, i want the world to cry
and i, i want the sun to shine
you can't believe in everything
you can't believe it all
04 Ballad of Sister Sue (04:34)
You tell me I'm lost and I don't seem too sure what to do (x2)
There's a fire in my head and I'm blinded by bullets (x2)
Dancing to nowhere, I'm losing my head and I'm (x2)
And the man at the bar that night recall that he needed me x2)
Sister, I've lost all the feeling
I'm lost and I'm sold
I lay down beside you
Sister, I'm blinded
It's only my eyes
I've sold them before
The man said the drinking is handled by pouring it right (x2)
And It seemed much the same when he pointed the gun at his head (x2)
Who'd need me then
In raise of much noise and I checked out the time, yeah
Let all my face down in the words of a stranger, no
Sister, I've lost all the feeling
I'm lost and I'm sold
I lay down beside you
Sister, I'm blinded
It's only my eyes
I've sold them before
06 Waves (05:54)
watch the waves so far away
they're washing cross the paths that i have made
leaving all my sins i turn away
like soaring birds i watch my sorrows play
don't you know
i've left and gone away
you're knocking on the door i closed today
and everything looks brighter
the waves they just soothe my pain away
it felt so good to see the sun
i'll choose my time before i choose the one
floating cross the waves the silence runs
my thoughts can go but now my sorrows done
(repeat chorus)
07 Brighter (03:49)
She don't understand you
Her birth made of grain
She can now see the sun
And everyone said, yeah
You're better off dead but
She didn't know we were alone
And when it all looks brighter
Just turn around and smile
When it's looking better
Just leave it all to time
Just leave it all to time
She said don't you know, yeah
There's people in places
And places is what made her see
And everyone said yeah
She's better off dead but
She looked like she wanted to live
And when it all looks brighter
Just turn around and smile
When it's looking better
Just leave it all to time
Just leave it all to time
When it all looks brighter
Just turn around and smile
And when it's looking better
Just leave it all to time [repeat 3]
09 Primal (05:29)
Today
I lost a [...colours fray...]
Watch the games you play
And when it all force down you
Don't forget the days
When the sunshine fades away
Remember what they say
Remember what they say
The right time
She calls
To tell
Every time
She says she's falling
And every time
She call us friends
Because
To the right time
She calls
To tell it would
Every time
She says she's falling
Every time
She call us friends
Can't believe
She says she's [...]
Can't believe
[...Disgusted...]
[...Disgusted...]
I can't believe it
[...Scares me...]
[...Can't believe it...]
[...]
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[ Transcribed by listening to the CD a *number* of times ]
[ Corrections, whatever, E-Mail me or write your own! chief@lysator.liu.se ]
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Underground eXperts United 1993
ftp: ftp.lysator.liu.se directory: /pub/texts/uxu
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Other reviews
By Blackdog
"Just For A Day continues to captivate as much as the world seen through a child's eyes. A daydream. Only for a day, yet infinite."
"The shoegazers always looked down, immersed in the waves of a celestial noise. Their music flew incredibly high, beyond the exosphere."
