Slowdive: NPR Music Field Recordings

By Stephen Thompson

Before a month-and-change ago, Slowdive hadn't released an album in 22 years. So you'd be forgiven for watching the band perform "Sugar For The Pill" and struggling to pin down what era you're in — especially since NPR Music plopped the group in a playfully retro Brooklyn shuffleboard parlor for the occasion.

In the early '90s, Slowdive dressed up shoegaze's hazy drift with jolts of energy and a chiming dream-pop shimmer. The band lasted only three albums before splitting u...