The fifth album from shoegaze giants Slowdive contains the duality of a familiar internal language mixed with the exaltation of new beginnings. everything is alive is transportive, searching and aglow, the work of a classic band continuing to pitch its unmistakable voice to the future. Six years after the group’s monumental self-titled album, everything is alive finds Slowdive—vocalists and guitarists Rachel Goswell and Neil Halstead, guitarist Christian Savill, bassist Nick Chaplin, and drummer Simon Scott—locating evermore contours of its immersive, elemental sound.
Philadelphia guitarist and songwriter Mike Polizze first appeared under the name Purling Hiss in 2009 with a self-released, self-titled CD-R. He played all the instruments and recorded the six fuzzy, corrosive pop songs himself at home as a recording-only project. Formerly playing in the heavy psych group Birds of Maya, Polizze played in and around the Philly indie scene, sharing stages with contemporaries like Kurt Vile and the War on Drugs while working on Purling Hiss songs in his basement studio…
It's been two years since Roadkill Ghost Choir has taken listeners on a ride. Last trip, brothers Andrew and Zach Shepard packed the car with high aspirations, a top-notch crew of musicians and the profound swelter of the South. With the upcoming arrival of False Youth Etcetera, the brothers have outgrown their roots in a supersonic fashion - exchanging their broken-down vehicles for an electrified magic carpet ride that soars through the night sky. Amidst the surprise success of the band's first record, primary songwriter Andrew was hardened by his experiences on the road, and under pressure to deliver new songs that outshined previous releases. It's no surprise False Youth Etcetera feels like a turn towards the fantastical, an anthemic escape compared to past output. It's immediately felt on the band's first single, "Classics (Die Young)," which bends beautifully and purposefully in the direction of synth-pop, and sets the tone for the entire record.
The ten tracks that make up The Other represent a kind of psychic evolution for King Tuff. No less hooky than previous records, the new songs ditch the goofy rock-and-roll bacchanalia narratives of earlier records in favor of expansive arrangements, a diversity of instrumentation, and lyrics that straddle the fence between painful ruminations and a childlike, creative energy untarnished by cynicism. The soulful and cosmic new direction is apparent from the album’s first moments: introduced by the gentle ringing of a chime, acoustic guitar, and warm organ tones, “The Other” is a narrative of redemption born of creativity.