Just for a Day by Slowdive (Review)

My first introduction to Slowdive, and an album that left such an impact on me that I still compare new albums to it today. Anytime I listen to a “shoegazer” or “dreampop”, there’s a part of me that compares it to songs like “Celia’s Dream” and “Catch The Breeze” (a song whose climax is so beautiful that it can still make me cry). However, the album reaches it’s zenith quickly. Many of the later songs, though lovely in their own right, often feel overshadowed by the first half of the album.

Alhough it doesn’t occupy as much time in my CD player as Souvlaki, it still holds a place in my heart. Along with My Bloody Valentine’s Loveless, Just for a Day was my initiation into the world of “shoegazer” music, in all of its atmospheric and downbeat glory.

I still remember the first time I listened to that tape I had picked up from a used music store, the first time I heard the guitars flood out of my speakers like rays of sunshine after a rainstorm, the subtle moans of the cello, and the gorgeous harmony that existed between Neil Halstead and Rachel Goswell. It was one of those rare moments that changed the way I looked at music forever.

There’s a reason that every group with an album of lush, ethereal pop music to their name — whether it be Alison’s Halo, Lush, or Velour 100 — is compared to Slowdive. That reason is Just for a Day.