Slowdive Return With New Single “Kisses” Ahead Of Their Highly Anticipated Fifth Album

The band’s latest single is a captivating blend of shoegaze nostalgia and contemporary dreampop.

For fans who were there during the original UK shoegaze movement, the return of early pioneers Slowdive is a great moment. Yet for new fans, their single “Kisses”, released on 20th June 2023, is a stellar piece of totally up-to-date dreampop that serves as the gateway to older influences while still having an effortlessly contemporary sound. 

Formed of vocal/guitarists Rachel Goswell and Neil Halstead plus guitarist Christian Savill, bassist Nick Chaplin and drummer Simon Scott, they are masters of laid-back, layered tracks with dreamy production. Their fifth album, Everything Is Alive is set with a release date of 1 September 2023, however, the album itself has been in production since 2020 and the band only announced its completion in April of this year. 

Prior to this, they had set a countdown clock on the track’s YouTube video to get fans excited as well as sharing the artwork for the single. Furthermore, they have announced an upcoming tour schedule that includes the US and Canada as well as the UK and Ireland, finishing in Dublin in November 2023 and kicking off two months earlier. 

The new single “Kisses” succeeds in the way it combines the shoegaze favorites of ethereal vocals and layers of hazy guitars with the pop sensibilities of a strong hook and distinctive chorus. Essentially, “Kisses” proves Slowdive is a crucial part of the current renewed interest in post-punk, new wave, synthpop, and the modern genres these scenes inspired like dream pop and synthwave. 

With a tandem moped ride through an ever-changing cityscape, the accompanying video for the track is cinematic, yet carries the introversion of the original scene in an emotive and accessible way. Sonically and in its accompanying visuals, “Kisses” is deep, but never heavy. 

The track clearly marks the start of a series of exciting developments for both old and new fans. Likewise, it promises an album that will bring a more underground, emotional, yet established attitude to current trends in synthpop and post-punk. If early UK shoegaze didn’t catch on as much in the shadow of its competitors, new music from a group like Slowdive shows the extent of its great revival – and “Kisses” promises an album that has both staying power and emotion. 

Dates and tickets to Slowdive’s upcoming tour are available here.

Featured Image by Aaron Rubin