Suspended in Sound: Slowdive at College Street Music Hall
Captured & Reviewed for The Concert Chronicles. Original article here.
Slowdive, the English band with over 35 years of history woven into their sound, brought their timeless, ethereal energy to New Haven’s College Street Music Hall on February 4, 2025. Known for their pioneering role in the shoegaze movement, Slowdive proved that their music transcends time, creating an atmosphere where nostalgia and the present moment collide. The immersive soundscape they crafted in Connecticut felt less like a concert and more like stepping into someone else’s lucid dream, where each note seemed to hang in the air, suspended in time.
The evening began with an opening set by Quannnic. Their performance was raw yet beautifully polished, weaving haunting melodies that perfectly set the tone for Slowdive’s dreamscape to unfold—much like the restless, racing thoughts that drift through your mind just before sleep takes over. Quannnic’s stage presence was magnetic, pulling the audience into their world with an effortless blend of vulnerability and intensity.
Slowdive opened their set with “Shanty” from their fifth and most recent studio album, Everything Is Alive. From the first note, the audience was submerged. The sound enveloped the crowd, creating an almost tangible atmosphere of sonic waves washing over us.
As the evening progressed, it wasn’t just the hypnotic music that pulled us under. The visuals grew increasingly intense, with cascading projections of abstract patterns across the stage. The interplay of light and shadow danced along with the music, creating an ever-shifting canvas that felt alive. The visuals didn’t just accompany the music—they became part of it.
The band created a hypnotic experience that blurred the lines between past and present, almost like a secret portal to a multiverse. Every song felt like a thread in a larger tapestry, weaving memories with new emotions. That’s the Slowdive effect—they don’t just play music; they rearrange the molecules in the room, leaving you slightly altered, as if you’d been somewhere else entirely, even if just for a moment.
FULL SETLIST
shanty
star roving
catch the breeze
no longer making time
crazy for love
souvlaki…
kisses
sugar for the pill
slomo
alison
when the sun hits
machine gun
dagger
40 days
