The band consists of Rachel Goswell (vocals/guitar), Neil Halstead (vocals/guitar), Nick Chaplin (bass), Christian Savill (guitar), and Simon Scott (drums, 1990-1994, 2014-present); additionally, Ian McCutcheon replaced Scott from 1994-1995. Goswell and Halstead had known each other since early childhood in Reading, Berkshire.
Initial demos were released as the Slowdive EP in late 1990; the band's sound was influenced by the Cocteau Twins and Creation labelmates My Bloody Valentine, featuring heavy use of guitar effects and muted vocals. Reviews in Melody Maker and the NME were enthusiastic, and two further well-regarded EPs followed in 1991 (Morningrise & Holding Our Breath). Their debut LP Just for a Day was written and recorded in six weeks, and was generally felt to be a disappointment at the time. At the same time, the UK music press had started to pick up on the American grunge scene, and the more introspective sounds of Slowdive, labelmates Ride, Chapterhouse and other "shoegazing" bands had fallen from critical favour. American label SBK pushed back the release of Just for a Day after a disastrous viral marketing campaign (involving vandalism of a public statue). In early 1992, the band toured the USA with Ride, and then returned to the UK to record a second album.
The band's second album, Souvlaki, would later become generally the band's most popular and well-received record. The album broke new ground for the band: two songs featured contributions from Brian Eno; "Souvlaki Space Station" was influenced by dub reggae; tracks such as "Dagger" and "Here She Comes" would become indications of the country-rock direction Halstead and Goswell would take a few years later; and several songs such as "When the Sun Hits" and "Alison" continued the style of the first album, but with improved songwriting. Initial copies of the UK version came with Blue Day, a compilation of most of the early EP tracks originally released as a separate album in Japan and some European countries. Later in the year, the band also released the 5 EP, containing four songs showcasing the influence of ambient techno; the lead track "In Mind" was also remixed by Bandulu and Reload (both then signed to Creation's dance label).
As with the first album, SBK delayed Souvlaki's release, and the band found themselves touring the USA in the summer of 1993 as Catherine Wheel's supporting act with no product to promote. The US version of Souvlaki was eventually released in early 1994, and included "Some Velvet Morning" (originally recorded for the Volume 7 compilation) and three of the tracks from the 5 EP. When Slowdive were finally able to tour America to support the album, SBK withdrew their funding halfway through; two further tours in 1994 were entirely funded by the band.
Simon Scott left amidst creative differences in 1994; he was replaced on drums by Ian McCutcheon. The band had almost become a Halstead solo project by the recording of their final album, 1995's Pygmalion. A critically misunderstood and widely-misinterpreted "ambient" record, Pygmalion took the dreamy guitar sound and warm-yet-solemn tone of earlier Slowdive to a newer, more minimalist extreme, similar to earlier dream pop bands such as A R Kane, or bands such as Labradford.
Slowdive was dropped by Creation in 1995 a week after the release of Pygmalion; Halstead had been warned before the recording of the album that the relationship with the label would end unless he delivered a "pop album". A legend arose that the band was dropped due to the Gallagher brothers refusing to sign Oasis to Creation if Slowdive and their counterparts remained on the label's roster, although Oasis had in fact released their debut single almost a year before Pygmalion.
After being dropped from Creation, Slowdive eventually went on hiatus later in 1995. Neil Halstead, Rachel Goswell and Ian McCutcheon recorded an album of country-influenced songs, and were signed to label 4AD, changing the band name to Mojave 3. Halstead and Goswell have also both released solo albums for 4AD.
Christian Savill went on to form Monster Movie, a dream pop group that continued where Slowdive left off. They have released three albums thus far, Last Night Something Happened, To The Moon, Transistor, and—most recently—All Lost.
Simon Scott formed Televise in 2004, a group which developed the lengthy noise swells and experimental song structures that helped define shoegaze while (also) including a more electronic brand of indie rock.
Eventually, all of Slowdive's albums were reissued in late 2005. Just For a Day included a bonus disc with all tracks from the first three EPs, and the three songs recorded for a John Peel session on 26 March 1991. Souvlaki included a bonus disc with all the remaining EP tracks, as well as "Some Velvet Morning" (originally recorded for a compilation). Pygmalion—which had become a collector's item in the years since its release due to it never being issued in the USA—contained no extra material, however.
On January 28, 2014, following a 12-day countdown and the appearance of an official website and Twitter account for the band, Slowdive announced their reunion with the Just for a Day/Souvlaki-era line-up including Simon Scott as drummer. The band was confirmed the same day to be playing the 2014 Primavera Sound Festival in Barcelona, Spain. 2014 saw the band go on a 5 month, 40 date long tour. In January 2017, Slowdive released their first new single in 22 years on the Dead Oceans label. Another single and a self titled fourth album followed in May 2017, preceded by another single, "Sugar for the Pill".
In September 2020, Slowdive announced they had begun work on their fifth studio album. In April 2023, the band confirmed on a podcast that they had finished their new album. The lead single "Kisses" was released on 20 June 2023, and later that month the band played the Glastonbury Festival for the first time. The album's second single "Skin in the Game" was released on 18 July 2023, followed by "The Slab" and "Alife" in August, and the album Everything Is Alive, was released on 1 September 2023.
Hide Your Eyes
Slowdive Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You don't look so good
There's nothing here that makes you feel the way you should
The summer's gone and you've lost your way
Why hide your heart
You know It's always such a waste
Seeing you cry and it makes me sad
Makes me think that I should hold you everyday
Even if you hit the ground
Miss you always
Even if you're here to play
Silly Girl
It's just a way to go
There's nothing cool that makes my heart stay away
I've seen you cry and it makes me sad
Don't hide your eyes
You know it's always such a waste
Miss you always
Even when you hit the ground
Miss you always
Even when you're here to play
In the song "Hide Your Eyes" by Slowdive, the lyrics talk about a girl who seems to have lost her way and is not feeling good about herself. The singer is trying to encourage her to open up and not hide her heart or her eyes. They mention that there is nothing around her that can make her feel the way she should, and that it's always a waste to hide her heart. The singer is also sad when they see her cry, and wants to hold her and be there for her every day.
The chorus of the song repeats the line "Miss you always, even if you hit the ground / Miss you always, even if you're here to play." This line can be interpreted in a few different ways. The first interpretation is that the singer misses her all the time, even if she's struggling and has hit rock bottom. The second interpretation is that the singer will always be there for her, even if she's just pretending to be okay and putting on a happy face.
Overall, the lyrics of "Hide Your Eyes" are about vulnerability, connection, and supporting each other through difficult times. It's a message to be open and honest with ourselves and others, and to not be afraid to show our true feelings.
Line by Line Meaning
Silly girl
Addressing a girl in a playful yet affectionate way
You don't look so good
Observing that she appears to be troubled or upset
There's nothing here that makes you feel the way you should
Noting that she is not experiencing the positive emotions that should be associated with the present situation
The summer's gone and you've lost your way
Drawing a connection to the passing of time and the feeling of being lost or uncertain
Why hide your heart
Questioning why she is keeping her emotions shielded from others
You know It's always such a waste
Suggesting that it is pointless or unproductive to keep one's emotions to oneself
Seeing you cry and it makes me sad
Empathizing with her emotions and wishing to alleviate her distress
Makes me think that I should hold you everyday
Feeling compelled to comfort and support her on a regular basis
Miss you always
Expressing a sentiment of longing and affection
Even if you hit the ground
Reassuring her that their bond will endure even in the face of adversity
Even if you're here to play
Implying that their relationship is meaningful regardless of the context or circumstances
It's just a way to go
Arguing that being closed-off emotionally is simply one way of handling situations
There's nothing cool that makes my heart stay away
Rejecting the notion that emotional detachment is a desirable or admirable trait
Don't hide your eyes
Encouraging the girl to be open and honest with her feelings
Contributed by Adam N. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@1honeypower
Silly girl
You don't look so good
There's nothing here that makes you feel the way you should
The summer's gone and you've lost your way
Why hide your heart
You know It's always such a waste
Seeing you cry and it makes me sad
Makes me think that I should hold you everyday
Miss you always
Even if you hit the ground
Miss you always
Even if you're here to play
Silly Girl
It's just a way to go
There's nothing cool that makes my heart stay away
I've seen you cry and it makes me sad
Don't hide your eyes
You know it's always such a waste
Miss you always
Even when you hit the ground
Miss you always
Even when you're here to play
@JonDan
It's a crime this song was never released u.u
@frith9672
Well you have alison and when the sun hits that are somehow thus song
@JonDan
@@frith9672 I prefer the lyrics on this one
@ornellabaumeler3474
It is soooo wrong they got million unreleased songs 😡
@stevethefishdotnet
This song reminds me of the wonderful girl from Ireland I didn't marry. She was a girl whose kindness had lifted me from a dark cloud of loneliness and despair, yet I couldn't do the same for her as she was wasting away from anorexia. I'd found love with another girl, so far away in Japan. But this Irish girl was a kindred spirit, a hurting soul like me. When she transferred to a college out of state, I felt her absence and it made me sad. Although I married the girl in Japan, I wish I could have held onto the Irish girl's friendship forever. I was always such a lonely nerd, yet I found myself in a love triangle between two lovely foreign girls with black hair. This was 25 years ago...
@stellarch9524
sometimes the nerds get lucky
@patrickbatemangigafemcell6565
As someone whose Irish- get therapy
@stevethefishdotnet
@@patrickbatemangigafemcell6565 As someone who is a Slowdive fan, go listen to some happy pop music instead. This is a wistful, sad song of a girl wasting away, and it reminds me of a girl I was friends with who was sadly wasting away. Her drunken Irish father abused her, so later she sought love from guys who abused her. Slowdive's songs bring images of melancholy to one's mind, sadness for forgotten memories. If my life experience bothers you, do yourself a favor and not read the comments to the Slowdive song "Sleep" because you'll get a lot more of the same. (BTW, good job thumbing up your own comment!)
@__julia___749
It's giving " I can fix her" vibes 🚩
@stevethefishdotnet
@@__julia___749 No it is not, because I'm not a girl. Typically, girls get caught in that trap but guys do not. I had no intention of "I can fix her." Though I loved her, I knew that it wouldn't work out between us and it's why I withheld my love. I didn't realize that she loved me until I had already found the girl who became my wife. Prior to this, my heart was broken by an aspiring actress who lied to me about already having a boyfriend. It turned out that it was rather pathetic guy, but she had the "I can fix him" attitude, thinking that he needed her more than I did. Both girls chose bad paths and screwed up their lives. Sad stories, but it's not from my doing. You cannot change others; they have to change themselves. Moreover, you alone are responsible for your own peace. It's between you and God. You cannot place that expectation on others.