At the time of it’s release, this album was under apprciated. They were part of a group of bands in the really early ’90s—My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive, Ride, Moose—and those first Slowdive records were right in the wheelhouse. Reverbed-out, cascading guitars and distant, female-male voices, in kinship with what My Bloody Valentine were doing. Even though it was airy and ethereal, it was also still very loud. In England, Slowdive were successful somewhat, but in America they started gaining cult status even through the late ’90s. There was definitely a time when this stuff was happening, There was something about their music that struck a bigger chord with me than some of the other bands from around that time. Something about the way Neil and Rachel’s vocals blended that drew me in more, something more personal about the song writing and singing that made them my favourite noisy guitar band around that time.
“Pygmalion” now it’s become heralded as a masterpiece. And it is. When Slowdive disbanded in 1995 music fans widely associated it with the demise of the shoegaze genre. Their last sign of life was “Pygmalion” (before they reunited in 2014) and it was, after “Just For A Day” and “Souvlaki” a totally different and more abstract album. Where the band attempted to put more song structures in place on “Souvlaki“, they began to incorporate more elements of ambient electronica on “Pygmalion” .
This majestic record became a cult touchstone for its ambient detours and post-rock experiments. Nothing else sounds quite like it, and Slowdive themselves fell silent for years afterward, save for side projects, only to finally re-emerge with 2017’s triumphant, self-titled reunion album.
Tracks like “Blue Skied An’ Clear” and “Crazy For You” demonstrate that the songs are still there, somewhere – they’re just buried under more abstract sounds than before.
The Fat Angel Sings 