Art/into/Pop: Selections of Shoegaze: Neil Halstead & Rachel Goswell

After spending a week in the seclusion of nature and having opportunity to gaze at the stars of the evening’s canopy, I figured I’d come home and post on the ever-Spacey “dream pop” of Halstead & Goswell’s Slowdive & later Mojave 3.

Slowdive featuring Rachel Goswell & Neil Halstead

One of the most prolific Shoegazing careers of the music industry would be that of both Neil Halstead and Rachel Goswell. Their continued stay in the music world is no thanks to the industry or its critics, however. Only recently have the artists began to receive the praise and credit that their legacies deserve. They started in England in the late 80s as the band Slowdive during a period of uncertain transition for the music world. Very quickly they were classified with bands like My Bloody Valentine and Cocteau Twins for their use of dreamy-like vocals over loud, reverby guitars with heavy-slow, pulsing rhythms of the drums. Despite their talent, by the time they released their debut, Just for a Day (1991 Creation Records), the critics had become impatient with the “Dream Pop” sound and were looking to the west with interest in the new Seattle scene called “grunge.” To make it worse, British audiences were becoming more and more taken by the emerging “Britpop” sound of bands like Blur. Consequently, their album was met with lukewarm reviews at best, which apparently affected the band deeply. Their 2nd album, Souvlaki (1993 Creation Records), enlisted the help of coproducer and musical contributor, Brian Eno, and being an Eno fan, it’s one of my favorite albums by Halstead & Goswell. The critics, however, reacted negatively, once again. Here’s the video of the opening track, “Allison”:

Man, Mtv used to be cool, videos by Slowdive and such... Not the Mtv that kids know today. The group also made a video for “When the Sun Hits”:

One can tell immediately that Souvlaki is the most commercial effort of the Slowdive discography, and many argue that is is their best musically. They went on to record one more full length album, Pygmalion (1995 Creation Records/EMI), which departed dramatically from their previous efforts. It was more minimal, quieter, sparser in its distribution of sound. At times, I find myself claiming Pygmalion to be my favorite Slowdive release, depending on my mood it seems. It kind of reminds me of the recently posted work of Mark Hollis. Check out the opening track, “Retti”:

Here’s one of the later songs on the album, “Blue Skied an’ Clear”:

Much like the late work of Hollis, critics have labelled (in hindsight) Pygmalion as an early example of Post-Rock. Ironically, critics dismissed the work of Slowdive as regressive and “a product of a previous decade,” but perhaps time has proved the opposite. More and more, bands have cited Slowdive as an influence and inspiration, especially with the popular explosion of Post-Rock acts. Halstead and Goswell did not stop here, however. After much commercial frustration, Slowdive split, and in its ashes, Halstead and Goswell formed the spacey alt-country act, Mojave 3. What happens when Shoegazers take up the tradition of country songwriting? Something akin to the sounds of a group like Cowboy Junkies; or at least that’s what I thought of when I first heard Mojave 3’s debut full-length, Ask Me Tomorrow (1996 4AD). Here’s the video for the opening track of the album, “Love Songs on the Radio”:

Much of the album follows the same vibe of the above song. Like stated before, if you like the mellow, dreamy take on country explored by acts like Cowboy Junkies, this entire release is a must listen. It will not disappoint. Later albums of Mojave 3, however, have moved towards more general indie rock. The influence of country is still there, but it does not seem to be the primary focus. I really like the later song, “She’s All Up Above,” from the album Spoon and Rafter (2003 4AD):

Overall, Mojave 3 has released 5 albums, all on 4 AD between the years 1996-2006, and they are currently on hiatus. Both Neil Halstead and Rachel Goswell have continued to pursue solo careers as songwriters, and both are worth a listen. I believe Goswell has released one solo full-length, Waves are Universal (2004 4AD), and Halstead has now put out two solo albums, Sleeping on Roads (2002 4AD) and Oh! Mighty Engine (2008 Brushfire).