"Slowdive" is a song by English

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of music that emerged in late 1977 in the wake of punk rock. Post-punk musicians departed from punk's fundamental elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a broader, more experiment ...

band

Siouxsie and the Banshees Siouxsie and the Banshees ( ) were a British Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1976 by vocalist Siouxsie Sioux and bass guitarist Steven Severin. Post-punk pioneers, they were widely influential, both over their contemporaries and later ...

. It was released in 1982 by record label

Polydor Polydor Limited, also known as Polydor Records, is a British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in ...

as the first single from the band's fifth studio album, '' A Kiss in the Dreamhouse''.

Music

The song (and the album) was representative of Siouxsie and the Banshees' more elaborate and experimental musical direction at the time. The overtones of the song were accentuated by a string section, including

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

s and a

cello The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), tuned i ...

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

later described "Slowdive" as "a violin-colored

dance Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

beat number" with "a catchy melodic hook". ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

s music critic Dave Simpson deemed it one of the band's very best recordings, noting that it "sounds like the lid being slowly released on a pressure cooker, as the band emerge from the black and flit from suspense to sensuality. They change course again musically, too, switching from brooding rock to psychedelic pop". ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' noted the influence of German rock in the drums beats: "Siouxsie hits the dance floor in "Slowdive", tapping into the

krautrock Krautrock (also called , German for ) is a broad genre of experimental rock that developed in Germany in the late 1960s and early 1970s. It originated among artists who blended elements of psychedelic rock, avant-garde composition, and electron ...

power groove of bands like Can".

Release

"Slowdive" was released on 1 October 1982 by record label

. The song just missed becoming a top 40 hit, peaking at number 41 in the UK Singles Chart. The song's release on 12" vinyl included an extended version (which would be released on the expanded, remastered edition of ''A Kiss in the Dreamhouse'' in 2009) and an instrumental version of the third track on ''Dreamhouse'', "Obsession", titled "Obsession II".

Legacy

The title of the song inspired the name of the band Slowdive in the early 1990s, as later confirmed by the latter's members in interviews. "Slowdive" was covered by

LCD Soundsystem LCD Soundsystem is an American Dance-punk#Contemporary dance-punk, dance-punk revival band from Brooklyn, Brooklyn, New York, formed in 2002 by James Murphy (electronic musician), James Murphy, of DFA Records. The band comprises Murphy (vocals ...

in January 2005 for an XFM radio session and was also released as the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

of their " Disco Infiltrator" single. “Slowdive” was a consistent part of LCD Soundsystem's live set in 2005, serving as the show closer.

Track listing

; 7" single ; 12" single

Personnel

; Siouxsie and the Banshees * Siouxsie Sioux – vocals * Steven Severin – six-string bass guitar * John McGeoch – guitar * Budgie – drums, percussion, harmonica ; Additional personnel * Anne Stephenson – violin * Virginia Hewes – violin

References

{{Authority control 1982 singles Siouxsie and the Banshees songs Polydor Records singles Songs written by Siouxsie Sioux Songs written by Budgie (musician) Songs written by Steven Severin Songs written by John McGeoch 1982 songs Psychedelic pop songs