Pygmalion (album)

Pygmalion is the third studio album by English rock band Slowdive, released on 6 February 1995 by record label Creation. It was the final Slowdive album to be released before the band went on a hiatus in 1995, and their only album to feature new drummer Ian McCutcheon, replacing the previous drummer Simon Scott.

Pygmalion
Studio album by Slowdive
Released	6 February 1995
Recorded	1994
Studio	Courtyard Studios in Sutton Courtenay, Oxfordshire, England
Genre	Shoegazing dream pop ambient post-rock
Length	48:23
Label	Creation
Producer	Chris Hufford Slowdive
Slowdive chronology
Souvlaki (1993) Pygmalion (1995) Catch the Breeze (2004)

Content

A departure from their previous two albums, Pygmalion incorporated a more experimental sound tilted towards ambient electronic music, with sparse, atmospheric arrangements. All compositions were by Neil Halstead. Lyrics on tracks "Miranda" and "Visions of LA" were by Rachel Goswell.

The cover illustration features imagery from Rainer Wehinger's graphic notation for György Ligeti's work Artikulation (1958).[1]

Reissue

The album was remastered and reissued on Cherry Red in 2010, with a bonus disc consisting of demo versions of Pygmalion-era tracks.

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
The Guardian	[3]
NME	5/10[4]
Pitchfork	8.7/10[5]
Record Collector	[6]

Pygmalion has been well-received by critics. AllMusic called it "a stylistic masterpiece",[2] while BBC Music echoed similar sentiments, writing that Pygmalion "remains Halstead and Goswell's masterpiece" and comparing it to the ambient work of Brian Eno.[7] Head Heritage wrote that with the album, "Slowdive distilled the expansive aural atmospheres of Souvlaki to perfection."[8]

Pitchfork noted the change in style, describing the album's tracks as "ambient pop dreams that have more in common with post-rock like Disco Inferno than shoegazers like Ride".[5]

A negative review came from Trouser Press, which wrote that the album "completely lacks all the tension, songwriting, sounds and power of the band's work, leaving only the spatial dimensions", calling it "essentially a solo ambient recording by singer/guitarist Neil Halstead that should have been released under his own name".[9]

Legacy

The song "Blue Skied an' Clear" was featured on the soundtrack of the 1995 film The Doom Generation.

In 1999, critic Ned Raggett ranked Pygmalion at number 122 on his list of "The Top 136 or So Albums of the Nineties" for Freaky Trigger.[10] In 2016, Pitchfork placed it at number 12 on its list of "The 50 Best Shoegaze Albums of All Time".[11]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Neil Halstead, except where noted.

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Rutti"		10:06
2.	"Crazy for You"		6:00
3.	"Miranda"	Halstead Rachel Goswell	4:49
4.	"Trellisaze"		6:21
5.	"Cello"		1:33
6.	"J's Heaven"		6:45
7.	"Visions of LA"	Halstead Goswell	1:46
8.	"Blue Skied an' Clear"		6:54
9.	"All of Us"		4:09
Total length:			48:23

2010 reissue bonus disc (Pygmalion Demos)

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Miranda"	3:49
2.	"Watch Me"	3:48
3.	"Yesterday"	4:23
4.	"To Watch"	5:55
5.	"Option One (Instrumental #1)"	3:53
6.	"Cargo"	4:27
7.	"Sinewaves"	5:15
8.	"Ambient Guitar"	5:50
9.	"Crazy for You" (Alt. Version)	4:40
10.	"Prautrock"	5:08
11.	"Changes"	4:54
12.	"Red Five"	6:07
Total length:		58:09

Personnel

Slowdive

• Neil Halstead – vocals, guitar, production
• Rachel Goswell – vocals, guitar, production
• Christian Savill – guitar, production
• Nick Chaplin – bass guitar, production
• Ian McCutcheon – drums, production

Additional personnel

• Chris Hufford – engineering, production

Charts

Chart (1995)	Peak position
UK Albums (OCC)[12]	108

References

1. "LIGETI'S INSCRIBED "AURAL SCORE"". Foldvari Books. Retrieved 27 November 2018.
2. Abebe, Nitsuh. "Pygmalion – Slowdive". AllMusic. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
3. Sullivan, Caroline (10 February 1995). "Slowdive: Pygmalion (Creation)". The Guardian.
4. Harris, John (4 February 1995). "Slowdive: Pygmalion (Creation/All formats)". NME. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
5. Abebe, Nitsuh (28 November 2005). "Slowdive: Just for a Day / Souvlaki / Pygmalion". Pitchfork. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
6. "Slowdive: Pygmalion". Record Collector. p. 86. [A] masterpiece. 'Rutti''s chiming, warm guitar and almost In a Silent Way-era Miles Davis-like percussion is just gorgeous...
7. Wallace, Wyndham (2010). "Review of Slowdive – Pygmalion". BBC Music. Retrieved 8 May 2016.
8. Phimister, Rust (20 December 2008). "Slowdive – Pygmalion". Head Heritage. Retrieved 15 August 2016.
9. Rabid, Jack; Neate, Wilson. "TrouserPress.com :: Slowdive". TrouserPress.com. Retrieved 10 June 2016.
10. Raggett, Ned. "The Top 136 or So Albums of the Nineties". Freaky Trigger. Archived from the original on 20 January 2000. Retrieved 28 September 2011.
11. "The 50 Best Shoegaze Albums of All Time". Pitchfork. 24 October 2016. p. 4. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
12. "Chart Log UK: DJ S – The System Of Life". Zobbel.de. Retrieved 9 August 2019.