While plenty of Slowdive fans were quick to accept Mojave 3, I was not sold. My problems with their sound wasn't so much that I was expecting something along the lines of the drifting bliss of Slowdive, but the direction they took—picking and choosing elements from American country music like pedal steel guitar and harmonica—seemed rather half-hearted and out of place with faint vocals and bell sounds. Songs on the debut were weak in my opinion, almost like a discount Mazzy Star, but over the course of three albums I kept listening, things got better, but nothing bowled me over. Until now.
The 9+ minute epic, "Bluebird of Happiness" begins this year's release and is powerful enough to make everything else in the world cease to matter. Simplistic and elegant, it opens gently and half-way through lets loose a bombastic spine chilling anthem. The group hasn't shifted gears or anything: pedal steel guitars still sit alongside acoustic guitars, chiming glockenspiel, piano, occasional harmonica, and Neil Halstead's reserved vocals. The lineup hasn't changed and still features three original Slowdive members and production by Seefeel/Scala/Locust's Mark Van Hoen. The songs just sound stronger, bolder, and more creatively arranged than before. Even the rhythms of a song like "Battle of the Brokenhearts," with its jangly hoedown pace which usually has me cringing, fantastically pan out to a stunning drum-less million-dollar piano, moog, and glockenspiel melody. Sure, some borderline annoying country riffs still permeate through a few tracks but the songs are strong and captivating enough to sound like they belong this time around.
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