🇺🇦 #NowPlaying on #KEXP's #MiddayShow Slowdive: 🎵 Alison #Slowdive ▶️ 🪄 Automagic 🔊 show 📻 playlist on Spotify ▶️ Song/Cover on #Bandcamp:

Slowdive - Alison (Venn Cover)...

🇺🇦 #NowPlaying on #KEXP's #VarietyMix Slowdive: 🎵 kisses #Slowdive ▶️ 🪄 Automagic 🔊 show 📻 playlist on Spotify ▶️ Song/Cover on #Bandcamp:

kisses - electronic version 3,...

🇺🇦 #NowPlaying on #KEXP's #AfternoonShow Slowdive: 🎵 Star Roving #Slowdive ▶️ 🪄 Automagic 🔊 show 📻 playlist on Spotify ▶️ Song/Cover on #Bandcamp:

Star Roving, by Slowdive

Agriculture – The Spiritual Sound Review

By Owlswald

Black metal is rooted in extremity—a core toolkit of visual aesthetics, speed, power and atmosphere that naturally imbues it with an inherent spiritual essence. But that essence often collapses into a monochromatic buzz of tremolo and constant tempos. Los Angeles-based quartet Agriculture challenges this expectation with their second LP, The Spiritual Sound, moving beyond the solely dark and brutal in search of presence and illumination. Coming off their potent self-titled debut—a record that landed on Cherd’s Top 10(ish) records of 2023—and 2024’s Living is Easy EP, The Spiritual Sound is a statement of pure honesty and fearless experimentation. The record shatters typical black metal conventions, throwing out ritualistic fanfare for a vast array of influences including death metal, noise, math rock, folk, country, and punk. Self-dubbed as “ecstatic black metal,” the foursome demands you check all preconceived notions at the door as they reframe extreme in their own unique and expansive way.

While Agriculture hasn’t completely turned their backs on their blackened roots, The Spiritual Sound uses them as a launchpad to branch out into realms occupied by groups like Liturgy and labelmates Chat Pile. The frenzied, tremolotic dissonance of guitarists Dan Meyer and Richard Chowenhill still power tracks like “Serenity,” “Flea,” and “Micah (5.15am),” underpinning Leah Levinson’s manic vocals and Kern Haug’s unhinged drumming. Now, however, this approach serves as a stepping stone to more expansive horizons, as Agriculture’s originality has fully blossomed. The record’s forty-four minutes are a playful, unpredictable and complex patchwork of styles: math rock chaos (“My Garden”), sludgy down-picked riffs (“The Weight”), soothing Slowdivey shoegaze harmonies (“Flea,” “Dan’s Love Song”), punky gallops (“Micah (5.15am))” and delicate, folky passages (“The Reply,” “Hallelujah”). This diverse blend transmits an authentic ethos centered on camaraderie, collective struggle, and catharsis, grounded in themes from queer history and AIDS-era literature to historical collapse and Zen Buddhism. As unconventional as it might be, The Spiritual Sound’s mission is a clear success: to craft unique, empowering music that fosters community without pretense.

Agriculture’s experimentation largely shines through Meyer and Chowenhill’s impressive and inventive shredding. The duo injects The Spiritual Sound with tons of flashy guitar work through a hodgepodge of bends, squeals, trills, and high-pitched pick taps around more conventional bouts of thrashy riffing and smothering tremolos to create a vibrant spectrum of textures. The captivating leads in tracks like “The Weight,” “My Garden” and “Bodhidharma”—the latter of which contains one of the best solos I’ve heard in a long time—take influence from Tom Morello’s (Rage Against the Machine) boundary-pushing designs or Larry LaLonde’s (Primus) accented jams, while “Flea’s” solo elicits the expressiveness of classic rock. Song o’ the Year candidate “My Garden” explodes into a whirling dervish of frantic math fretwork before dropping into one of the most crushing riffs I’ve heard all year. It then transitions into a soothing interlude for a brief moment before bludgeoning you once more with heaviness and rapid-fire high tremolo runs. This constant shift between doom- and groove-laden weight, jarring dissonance, and soothing ethereal passages is what gives The Spiritual Sound its complex structure and feeds its absorbing, often unpredictable journey.

The Spiritual Sound’s novelty is equally defined by Levinson and Meyer’s vocal performances. Levinson shifts between extreme intensity and introspective subtlety, delivering ear-piercing shrieking rasps balanced by softer, more experimental elements like the poetic, spoken word found in “Bodhidharma” or the conversational tone of “Flea.” The strategic use of soothing clean vocals and Meyer’s beautiful harmonies in songs like “The Reply,” “Hallelujah,” or “Dan’s Love Song” also provides essential emotional contrast, amplifying the impact of the record’s heavier tracks and buttressing Agriculture’s originality. The coarse production—courtesy of Chowenhill—is compressed and somewhat lo-fi but allows the quartet’s unbridled sound to rush through the speakers with both raw aggression and clarity.

Agriculture may have stumbled into black metal during their formation, but the genre—and The Spiritual Sound—is all the better for it. Though their ambitious scope results in some unevenness (“Flea” and “Serenity” rely on tropey structures and interlude “The Spiritual Sound” is confusingly split into its own track), Agriculture is unafraid to walk its own path, successfully blending various styles into a great record authentically rooted in the power, community and pure enjoyment of extreme music. Black metal purists should look elsewhere—however, those who approach The Spiritual Sound without pretense will find a unique, genre-defying experience that only gets better with every play.

Rating: Great!
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 320 kb/s mp3
Label: The Flenser
Websites: agriculturemusic.bandcamp.com/music | agriculturemusic.com | facebook.com/agriculturemusic
Releases Worldwide: October 3rd, 2025

#2025 #40 #Agriculture #AlternativeMetal #AmericanMetal #BlackMetal #ChatPile #ExperimentalMetal #Liturgy #Oct25 #Primus #RageAgainstTheMachine #Review #Reviews #Slowdive #TheFlenser #TheSpiritualSound

12:27pm Sugar for the Pill by Slowdive from Slowdive
#KJAC #TheColoradoSound #Slowdive

The Cure Announces UK and Ireland Headlining Dates With Slowdive, The Twilight Sad, Mogwai, Just Mustard, and More!

https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://post-punk.com/the-cure-announces-uk-and-ireland-headlining-dates-with-slowdive-the-twilight-sad-moqwai-just-mustard-and-more/

🇺🇦 #NowPlaying on #KEXP's #MiddayShow Slowdive: 🎵 Star Roving #Slowdive ▶️ 🪄 Automagic 🔊 show 📻 playlist on Spotify ▶️ Song/Cover on #Bandcamp:

Star Roving, by Slowdive

The Cure to Headline Primavera Sound 2026 with My Bloody Valentine, Massive Attack, Slowdive, and More!

https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://post-punk.com/the-cure-to-headline-primavera-sound-2026-with-my-bloody-valentine-massive-attack-slowdive-and-more/

🇺🇦 #NowPlaying on #BBC6Music's #LaurenLaverne

Slowdive:
🎵 Sugar For The Pill

#Slowdive

https://trif0rcemusic.bandcamp.com/track/slowdive-sugar-for-the-pill-dadgrapes-edit

https://open.spotify.com/track/7H1rAPEQnP4X9GBc3xl5kx

SLOWDIVE
Slowdive
2017 U.S. pressing

One good dive deserves another.

I guess today will just be a Slowdive-heavy day. Which is more than ok with me.

The first of the Slowdive 2.0 albums.
And even though I like it slightly less than the follow-up, I remember hearing it for the first time and thinking “Oh thank god! It sounds really really great!”

I guess I didn’t know what to expect when I read it was coming out, but I needn’t have worried.

Glacial, dreamy, melodic, shoegaze FOREVER AND EVER.
Amen.

#vinyl #vinylrecords #vinylcollection #art #music #vinylcommunity #retro #vintage #shoegaze #dreampop #alternative #slowdive

SLOWDIVE
Everything Is Alive
2023 Worldwide pressing

Revisiting one of my favorite albums of 2023.

SLOWDIVE 2.0 has been a very satisfying experience. Since reforming in 2014, the band has put out two very excellent records, of which Everything Is Alive is my favorite.

It’s safe to say they will never quite make a record that will capture people’s attention again in the way Souvlaki did, but the great thing about making a magnificent piece of art like that is that it allows you the grace and good will to KEEP making records. I think people will always be interested in hearing a new SLOWDIVE record.
Particularly when they’re this excellent.

#vinyl #vinylrecords #vinylcollection #art #music #vinylcommunity #retro #vintage #shoegaze #slowdive #postrock #cinematic

Slow Dive // #SlowDive //

chained to a cloud
[album everything is alive, 2023]

//via // #DeadOceans //

#buzzingroom #music #bandcamp #SlowDive #EverythingIsAlive #ChainedToACloud #IngridPop #NeilHalstead #RachelGoswell #ChristianSavill #NickChaplin #SimonScott

link bandcamp: https://slowdive.bandcamp.com/track/chained-to-a-cloud

Slow Dive // #SlowDive //

kisses
[album everything is alive, 2023]

//via // #DeadOceans //

#buzzingroom #music #bandcamp #SlowDive #EverythingIsAlive #Kisses #IngridPop #NeilHalstead #RachelGoswell #ChristianSavill #NickChaplin #SimonScott

link bandcamp: https://slowdive.bandcamp.com/track/kisses

🇺🇦 #NowPlaying on #BBC6Music's #LaurenLaverne

Slowdive:
🎵 Star Roving

#Slowdive

https://slowdive.bandcamp.com/track/star-roving

https://open.spotify.com/track/7nq6qpHhCJ3pNOa3KHi8fe

🇺🇦 #NowPlaying on #BBC6Music's #LaurenLaverne

Slowdive:
🎵 Sugar For The Pill

#Slowdive

https://trif0rcemusic.bandcamp.com/track/slowdive-sugar-for-the-pill-dadgrapes-edit

https://open.spotify.com/track/0eVz3hV2xOXdneGpnWDFpb

#Slowdive at The Eastern in Atlanta, 5.17.2024

Slowdive(band) - Pygmalion
(Shoegaze, Experimental, Electronic / Sony Music Entertainment)

"Mit ihrem dritten Album "Pygmalion", das zwei Jahre nach "Souvlaki" im Jahre 1995 erschien, schlugen Slowdive einen völlig neuen musikalischen Weg ein."

Wie dieser neue musikalische Weg klingt hat @oranje1986 euch in der review beschrieben.
https://vinyl-keks.eu/slowdive-pygmalion/

#slowdive #pygmalion #shoegaze #experimental #electronic #sonymusic #fleetunion #neuauflage #vinyl #review

Slowdive(band) - Souvlaki
(Shoegaze, Dreamwave / Sony Music Entertainment)

"Nach ihrem starken Debütalbum "Just For A Day" 1991 veröffentlichten Slowdive 1993 ihr zweites Album "Souvlaki". Es gilt heute als ihr bekanntestes und einflussreichstes Werk – ein Album, das den Sound des Shoegaze-Genres entscheidend mitgeprägt hat und weltweit den Bekanntheitsgrad hochgeschraubt hat."

Review von @oranje1986
https://vinyl-keks.eu/slowdive-souvlaki/

#slowdive #souvlaki #shoegaze #sonymusic #fleetunion #vinyl #review

Slowdive(band) - just for a day
(Dreamwave, Shoegaze / Sony Music Entertainment)

Es ist ein Album, das in der Musikgeschichte einen bleibenden Eindruck hinterlassen hat und das auch heute noch als ein Grundpfeiler des Genres gilt.

Das erste von drei neu aufgelegten Slowdive Alben hat Stephan @oranje1986 für euch besprochen.
https://vinyl-keks.eu/slowdive-just-for-a-day/ ‎

#slowdive #fleetunion #dreamwave #shoegaze #Sony #sonymusic #neuauflage #musikgeschichte #1991 #justforaday #FleetUnion