> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.unknowndivide.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Slowdive everything is alive: The Shoegaze Album to Own on Vinyl - URL: https://www.unknowndivide.com/slowdive-everything-is-alive-vinyl/ - Published: 2024-05-24T15:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-30T06:18:57.000Z - Description: everything is alive is Slowdive's fifth album, a hopeful 2023 shoegaze record that began as modular synth demos. Here is the story behind it and where to buy it on vinyl. - Author: unknowndivide staff - Tags: Music *Unknowndivide may earn a commission from purchases made through links in this post.* Slowdive's everything is alive is proof that a band can come back decades into its career and still sound like the future. Shimmering, patient and quietly hopeful, it is the work of a shoegaze band that knows its own language and keeps finding new things to say with it. If you love washes of guitar and voices that melt into the mix, this is a record to own on vinyl. Here is what everything is alive is, how it was made and where to buy it. ## What it is [everything is alive](https://deadoceans.com/releases/everything-is-alive/?ref=unknowndivide.com), styled in lowercase, is the fifth album from [Slowdive](https://slowdiveofficial.com/?ref=unknowndivide.com). It was released on September 1, 2023, by [Dead Oceans](https://deadoceans.com/?ref=unknowndivide.com), six years after the band's self titled album. The band is the same five people: vocalists and guitarists Rachel Goswell and Neil Halstead, guitarist Christian Savill, bassist Nick Chaplin and drummer Simon Scott. The album runs eight tracks: "shanty," "prayer remembered," "alife," "andalucia plays," "kisses," "skin in the game," "chained to a cloud" and "the slab." ## How it began The record started with Halstead working on demos at home as writer and producer. Experimenting with modular synths, he first imagined everything is alive as a "more minimal electronic record." The band's collective decision making pulled things back toward their signature reverb drenched guitars, but that electronic starting point seeped into the songs. Halstead has said the strongest material tends to come when all five members are happy with it, and that the best bits are where they all meet in the middle. Goswell put it more simply: Slowdive is very much the sum of its parts. ## How it was made The making of the album stretched across years. Planned studio sessions in April 2020 were scrapped, and when the band finally met up six months later at Courtyard Studio, where they have historically recorded, the label says the mood was jubilant. That began a long recording process that moved from Oxfordshire to the Lincolnshire Wolds and back to Halstead's own studio in Cornwall, stretching into February 2022\. At that point the band brought in mixer Shawn Everett, who mixed six of the record's eight tracks. ## The feeling everything is alive is dedicated to Goswell's mother and Scott's father, who both died in 2020\. That loss is part of the album's emotional weight, and the label describes it as heavy with experience but pitched to hope, holding both sadness and gratitude. Halstead pointed to "kisses," which the label calls perhaps the band's surest pop moment yet, and said it would not feel right to make a really dark record right now. The album is eclectic emotionally, he said, but it does feel hopeful. Dead Oceans describes the sound as spanning psychedelic soundscapes, pulsing 80s electronic elements and journeys inspired by John Cale. ## Why it is cool Comebacks often trade on nostalgia. This one does not. everything is alive sounds unmistakably like Slowdive, yet the modular synth roots give it a fresh texture, and the songs feel focused rather than sprawling. At eight tracks, it is a record you can take in from start to finish in one sitting, which is exactly how shoegaze is meant to be heard. It is also a perfect vinyl album. Layered guitars, swirling synths and soft vocals reward a good turntable and a little volume. The quiet passages breathe, and the louder moments wash over you instead of blurring together. If you are setting up a system to hear records like this properly, our guide to [powered speakers for turntables](https://www.unknowndivide.com/best-powered-speakers-for-turntables/) is a good place to begin, since the right pair makes the difference between background noise and a room full of sound. ## Who should buy it Buy everything is alive if you love shoegaze, dream pop or atmospheric guitar music, or if you know Slowdive's older records and want to hear where they went next. It is also an inviting entry point for newcomers, since its songs are melodic and its mood is warm. New to the genre? Start with our [shoegaze starter guide](https://www.unknowndivide.com/shoegaze-starter-guide-essential-albums/). For more from the label, see our [Dead Oceans starter guide](https://www.unknowndivide.com/dead-oceans-starter-guide-essential-albums/), plus [Phoebe Bridgers' Punisher](https://www.unknowndivide.com/phoebe-bridgers-punisher-vinyl/) and [Japanese Breakfast's Jubilee](https://www.unknowndivide.com/japanese-breakfast-jubilee-vinyl/). ## Where to buy **Shop everything is alive** [everything is alive at Dead Oceans](https://deadoceans.com/releases/everything-is-alive/?ref=unknowndivide.com) [Slowdive, everything is alive](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C8N5JVH7?tag=unknowndivi02-20&ref=unknowndivide.com) [Slowdive, everything is alive on crystal clear vinyl](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C8NBWG16?tag=unknowndivi02-20&ref=unknowndivide.com) For more records worth owning, browse our [vinyl](https://www.unknowndivide.com/vinyl/) section.