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.
No Longer Making Time
Slowdive Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Say you're clean, you like it that way
You got a new boy
He keeps it light, you like it that way
Who cares anyway
Oh lord I remember the days
And all those nights
When you wanted so much more
Cathy, don't wait too long
We're no longer making time
Forever we'll be
Together, we breathe
No longer for too run
Come anyway
Come on down in your
Blue eyed way
Comes and it goes
You come around and I don't know why
Just lovers and life
Common ground, Yeah there's no surprise
Just holding your arms
Holding on till the fear, It goes
Cathy, don't wait too long
We're no longer making time
Forever we'll be
Together, we breathe
No longer for too run
Who cares anyway
Oh Lord, I remember those days
And all those nights
Holding on till the fear, it goes
The lyrics of Slowdive's song No Longer Making Time initially talks about a girl who has moved on with her life after presumably breaking up with the singer. She has found a new boy who doesn't complicate things and prefers to take things lightly. The singer reminisces about the days when she used to want more than what she has now, implying that the relationship they had in the past was more profound and meaningful than what the girl currently has. The lines "Say you're clean, you like it that way" could mean that the girl has found a clean slate with her new affair and doesn't want to go back to the complications of her past relationship with the singer. Nevertheless, the singer still invites the girl to come around and see him "in your blue-eyed way" despite all those "nights when you wanted so much more."
The chorus "Cathy, don't wait too long, We're no longer making time, Forever we'll be, Together, we breathe, No longer for too long" can be interpreted in two ways. Cathy could be the name of the girl, or she could be a metaphor for the past relationship that the singer is missing. The singer is telling Cathy not to wait too long to come around because they no longer have the luxury of time to fix things between them. The line "No longer for too long" could also mean that the singer wants to prolong their time together to make up for the time they've lost. The second verse is similar to the first; the singer encourages the girl to come around, and they could just be "just lovers and life" and enjoy being together. The last line "Holding on till the fear, it goes" could mean that the singer is holding on to his fears about their relationship, hoping that it could still work, but he wants them to go away.
Line by Line Meaning
Come anyway
Please come, regardless of anything else.
Say you're clean, you like it that way
Confirm that you're pure-hearted, and it gives you joy to be that way.
You got a new boy
You've moved on to another lover.
He keeps it light, you like it that way
He doesn't engage you too seriously, and you enjoy that kind of relationship.
Who cares anyway
It doesn't matter, nobody's paying attention.
Oh lord I remember the days
I recollect the past.
And all those nights
And the darkness that embraces them.
When you wanted so much more
When you craved greater depth and intimacy than what you have now.
Cathy, don't wait too long
Cathy, don't waste any more time.
We're no longer making time
There's no more time to be wasted.
Forever we'll be
Our unity will last forever.
Together, we breathe
We share the same breath, life, and emotions.
No longer for too run
The period where we ran without any aim is over.
Come on down in your
Please embrace who you are.
Blue eyed way
You and your unique qualities.
Comes and it goes
Sometimes you're here, sometimes you're not.
You come around and I don't know why
You show up, and I'm unsure about your intentions.
Just lovers and life
We're just two people dealing with love and life.
Common ground, Yeah there's no surprise
We share some similarities, it's to be expected.
Just holding your arms
I'm holding you tight and finding solace in your presence.
Holding on till the fear, It goes
I'll keep holding on until the fear dissipates.
Lyrics © WARP MUSIC LIMITED
Written by: Neil Halstead
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@theolvags
Come anyway
Say you're clean, you like it that way
You got a new boy
He keeps it light, you like it that way
Who cares anyway
Oh lord I remember the days
And all those nights
When you wanted so much more
Cathy, don't wait too long
We're no longer making time
Forever we'll be
Together, we breathe
No longer for too run
Come anyway
Come on down in your
Blue eyed way
Comes and it goes
You come around and I don't know why
Just lovers and life
Common ground, Yeah there's no surprise
Just holding your arms
Holding on till the fear, It goes
Cathy, don't wait too long
We're no longer making time
Forever we'll be
Together, we breathe
No longer for too run
Who cares anyway
Oh Lord, I remember those days
And all those nights
Holding on till the fear, it goes
@ccstreifel
My favorite from the album!
@folkandyeyo6570
same.
@user-jf8fr2yd2v
Me three
@Mira-tp2vq
Maimuțica mea :** I love Coldplay but so do you.
@esdraspires5542
Minha musica favorita. Brasil
@jorgeegrojjorge
Such a deep song; those guitars make my skin tingle.
@intenseaction
The chorus sounds like what it would feel like entering heaven
@nullnvoid1312
my second favorite song out of their entire discography, after dagger.
@tyrell_weyland
Yes. "dagger" for ever
@Prospider99
underrated song from that album, the emotions this simple yet beautiful song captures are insane