Review: 25 years have passed and Souvlaki is still pegged as a masterpiece of shoegaze

25 years have passed since the release of Slowdive’s “Souvlaki” and it is still pegged as a stellar embodiment of shoegaze; right beside My Bloody Valentine’s “Loveless,” that is. It is comical now looking back and realizing how Slowdive, specifically “Souvlaki,” was ridiculed in the early 1990s. The British critics were ruthless; one critic even writing that he would rather drown in a bathtub of porridge than listen to Slowdive ever again. The aforementioned critic was clearly delusional. “Souvlaki” is a work of art.

The multifaceted work of art begins with the sublime opening track “Alison.” The muted drums linger behind layers of dreamy vocals, fluidic guitar and a shimmery curtain of synth. The opening lyrics, “Listen close and don’t be stoned / I’ll here in the morning because I’m just floating” begin to describe the washed-out relationship between members Neil Halstead and Rachel Goswell. Holistic cascades of euphoria are felt throughout the song by the high pitched guitar and the masqueraded vocals are undeniably intoxicating.

“Alison” bleeds into “Machine Gun,” a hazy, drape of dream pop melodies and fuzzy instrumental structures. There is a sense of despair woven throughout the song, “Just the weight of the water drags me down, yeah.”

The semi-out-of-tune start to “40 Days” makes my heart beat inside my chest. Guitars seemingly stretch and swirl in painfully slow-motion layers and vocals seem to be calling out among them, even the lazy-esque chants. “40 Days,” just like every song on “Souvlaki” is full of idiosyncratic, weepy longing and is mostly slowed down to a sedative crawl. “40 days and I miss you / I’m so high that I lost my mind” continues to narrate the seemingly agonizing heartbreak that is plaited throughout the album. “Souvlaki” portrays heartbreak as a bewitching phenomenon.

“When the Sun Hits” features ever-shifting guitar melodies and heart wrenching vocals from Halstead and Goswell. “It matters where you are” Halstead lazily chants, followed by the heartiest guitar melodies “Souvlaki” has to offer. “When the Sun Hits” is powerful with numerous layers of texture and fuzz. “Sweet thing I watch you (burn away)” fades in oscillating layers.

“Dagger,” the closing track and the “ballad” on the album, if that’s even the correct term, is haunting, featuring acoustic guitar and less-fuzzy atmospheric sounds like the rest of the album. Halstead lullingly chants “And me I am your dagger, you know I am your wound” with soft, shadowy electric guitar humming in a curtain of ambience. “Dagger” is achingly remiss, closing out the masterpiece “Souvlaki” on a dawlding note. However, the lackadaisical nature of “Dagger” doesn’t make “Souvlaki” any less impressive.

“Souvlaki” is a classic, similar to My Bloody Valentine’s previously aforementioned gem, but painted entirely different. Slowdive tended to focus on melody and song construction in their illustrations of what shoegaze was and is supposed to be. The convoluted male-female harmonies, the abysmal swells of guitar, plush instrumental arrangements set against numerous layers of texture and fuzz and subdued percussion always seemingly on the edge of breaking forth is Slowdive’s interpretation of shoegaze; and it works.