When groups reform, it can take years to negotiate the chasm between what we want from them, and what they’re capable of delivering. Most never manage it. Slowdive, however, now sound powerful, confident, the band they always wanted to be. All phases of their short career are toyed with: the dense proto-gothicism of the early EPs, Souvlaki’s elegant swaddle-pop and the eerie electronica of Pygmalion. Falling Ashes and Don’t Know Why foreground hypnotic piano and military drums, respectively, to prove they’re more than processed guitars and leafweight vocals. Sugar for the Pill is desolate in its gorgeousness, and Star Roving sounds anthemic, victorious, as it should.
