Wilder Music

By Noa Acar.

The evening at the Effenaar began with Drab Majesty, an act that felt like the perfect opener. Their blend of new wave, ambient, and shoegaze-like textures seamlessly matched what was to come. From the start, the atmosphere was layered, mysterious, and above all, inviting. It gave the audience the space to slowly ease into the mood — and it fit perfectly with the world Slowdive would later draw us into. When Slowdive took the stage, the room fell silent in a way you don’t often experience. People listened. ‘Shanty’, the opener from their latest album ‘Everything Is Alive’, immediately set the tone.

What stood out right away was the diversity of the crowd. Not just people who had lived through the ’90s firsthand, but strikingly many twenty-somethings and teenagers who weren’t even born when ‘Souvlaki’ came out. Parents with kids, groups of friends spanning generations – it felt like Slowdive was building a bridge across time. The atmosphere was calm, respectful – everyone seemed genuinely eager to listen. No phones held up in the air, no whispered conversations, just a shared focus.

Shoegaze might once have been dismissed as music for introverts staring at their shoes, but today it’s a globally respected genre. Especially in the U.S., where it was reborn as dream pop, it’s found a new audience. That was very much felt here.

The setlist was a beautiful mix of old and new. ‘Kisses’, ‘No Longer Making Time’, and ‘Star Roving’ translated brilliantly live, with warm tones and a calm, steady build. There was also plenty of room for older tracks, which still hit just as hard. ‘Sugar for the Pill’ stood out as one of the highlights of the night – dreamy and melancholic without becoming heavy. The kind of song that makes you fall silent for a moment.

The band members themselves exuded calm. No over-the-top show, but certainly not a static performance either. Rachel Goswell swayed subtly with the music, bassist Nick Chaplin was visibly in his element, and the whole set radiated a quiet confidence. They have nothing left to prove – and it’s precisely because of that, that they do. This evening, Slowdive showed that the past doesn’t have to be a burden. They’ve grown, evolved, and are – deservedly – embraced by fans both old and new.

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All credits to Noa Acar (@acarnoa – Instagram)