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.
Sugar For the Pill
Slowdive Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
They're drumming in the wind
Only lovers alive
Running in the dark
And I rolled away
Said we never wanted much
Just a rollercoast'
Sugar for the pill
You know it's just the way things are
Cannot buy the sun
This jealousy will break the whole
Cut across the sky
And move a little closer now
Lying in a bed of greed
You know I had the strangest dream
And I rolled away
Said we never wanted much
Just a rollercoast'
Our love has never known the way
Sugar for the pill
You know it's just the way things are
Cannot buy the sun
This jealousy will break the whole
And I rolled away
Said we never wanted much
Just a rollercoast'
Our love has never known the way
Sugar for the pill
You know it's just the way things are
Cannot buy the sun
This jealousy will break the whole
"Slowdive" is a British band known for creating ethereal and dreamy soundscapes in their music. "Sugar For The Pill" is a track from their self-titled album, which was released in 2017. The lyrics of the song present a somber and reflective tone, with several poetic metaphors and shifting imagery, revealing different facets of love, loss, and jealousy.
The opening lines, "There's a buzzard of gulls, they're drumming in the wind," create a chaotic and unsettling image that is a metaphor for the emotional turbulence in a relationship. The phrase "Only lovers alive, running in the dark" suggests the idea of two people being united despite the chaos surrounding them. The line "Our love has never known the way" implies that both partners are unsure of the relationship's direction and the line "you know it's just the way things are" shows a kind of resignation to the natural chaos of life.
The chorus, "Sugar for the pill, you know it's just the way things are, cannot buy the sun, this jealousy will break the whole" is a mix of contradictory images overlaid with surrealism. The mention of "Sugar for the pill" creates an analogy of taking something soothing for a harsh reality. While "this jealousy will break the whole" suggests the opposite of calm and brings about an ominous tone.
Overall, "Sugar For The Pill" can be interpreted as a bittersweet love song that views life's harsh reality with as much acceptance as possible. The song seems to suggest that love can be a beautiful experience, but it is often disrupted by the chaos of living.
Line by Line Meaning
There's a buzzard of gulls
A swarm of seagulls is circling around.
They're drumming in the wind
The sound of the gulls' wings flapping in the wind is creating a rhythmic beat.
Only lovers alive
The only ones out at this time of night are lovers.
Running in the dark
The lovers are running through the darkness.
And I rolled away
The singer is distancing himself from the situation.
Said we never wanted much
The singer and his lover never desired many material things.
Just a rollercoast'
All they ever wanted was a thrilling emotional ride.
Our love has never known the way
Their love has never followed a clear path, but has been unpredictable and fraught with uncertainty.
Sugar for the pill
A sweet, fleeting pleasure that masks underlying pain and problems.
You know it's just the way things are
This is the unfortunate reality of their situation.
Cannot buy the sun
No amount of money can purchase true happiness.
This jealousy will break the whole
If jealousy is not overcome, it will destroy everything.
Cut across the sky
Something is moving quickly through the sky.
And move a little closer now
The singer and his lover are getting physically closer to one another.
Lying in a bed of greed
The singer and his lover are comfortably nestled in a selfish state of mind.
You know I had the strangest dream
The singer had an unusual dream.
Lyrics © WARP MUSIC LIMITED
Written by: Neil Halstead
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@meryemabbaoui1870
Lyrics
There's a buzzard of gulls
They're drumming in the wind
Only lovers alive
Running in the dark
Anna rolled away
Said we never wanted much
Just a rollercoast'
Our love was never number one
Sugar for the pill
You know it's just the way things are
Can't abide the sun
This jealousy will break the whole
Cut across the sky
And move a little closer now
Lying in a bed of greed
You know I had the strangest dream
Anna rolled away
Said we never wanted much
Just a rollercoast'
Our love was never number one
Sugar for the pill
You know it's just the way things are
Can't abide the sun
This jealousy will break the whole
Anna rolled away
Said we never wanted much
Just a rollercoast'
Our love was never number one
Sugar for the pill
You know it's just the way things are
Can't abide the sun
This jealousy will break the whole
@gbrs6280
[Verse 1]
There's a blizzard of gulls
They're drumming in the wind
Only lovers alive
Running in the dark
[Chorus]
Anna rolled away
Said we never wanted much
Just a rollercoast'
Our love was never number one
Sugar for the pill
You know it's just the way things are
Can't abide the sun
This jealousy will break the whole
[Verse 2]
Cut across the sky
And move a little closer now
Lying in a bed of greed
You know I had the strangest dream
[Chorus]
Anna rolled away
Said we never wanted much
Just a rollercoast'
Our love was never number one
Sugar for the pill
You know it's just the way things are
Can't abide the sun
This jealousy will break the whole
[Instrumental]
[Chorus]
Anna rolled away
Said we never wanted much
Just a rollercoast'
Our love was never number one
Sugar for the pill
You know it's just the way things are
Can't abide the sun
This jealousy will break the whole
@menswear2112
Slowdive hurts and heals simultaneously. Extremely rare phenomenom.
@user-hr3dg3fz5o
You nailed it there mate. Heard this when it first came out and couldn't believe it was even better than their early stuff - which is incredible. Truly great band.
@ErnestOttmon
The war on drugs does the same for me
@neilcook4686
I like the way you put it. Thank you :)
@22Phantasm
I'm pissed off that I didn't think of your description of Slowdive and their music. It's perfect.
@_Pr0.xy_
YES
@sean..L
This is the type of melancholy song that plays when you’re driving home late at night with the moon lighting up the trees.
@capebuatid
try "m83 - midnight city"
@anandkishor2791
you my man broooooo u hit the spot
@anandkishor2791
@@capebuatid i would like suggestions like that