Released 1 October 1982 Recorded 1982 | Format 7" and 12" vinyl Length 3:42 | |
B-side "Cannibal Roses", "Obsession II" Genre Post-punk, psychedelic pop, dance-rock | ||
"Slowdive" is a song by English post-punk band Siouxsie and the Banshees. It was released in 1982 by record label Polydor as the first single from the band's fifth studio album, A Kiss in the Dreamhouse.
Contents
Music and legacy
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 violins and a cello. AllMusic later described "Slowdive" as "a violin-colored dance beat number" with "a catchy melodic hook". The Guardian'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".
The title of the song gave the name to the band Slowdive in the early 1990s as their members later related it in interviews.
Release
"Slowdive" was released on 1 October 1982 by record label Polydor. 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".
Cover version
"Slowdive" was later covered by LCD Soundsystem in January 2005 for an XFM radio session and was also released as the B-side of their "Disco Infiltrator" single. LCD Soundsystem closed all their 2005 concerts with performances of the song.