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Baker's Dozen

A Document in Time: Neil Halstead Of Slowdive's Baker's Dozen
Joe Clay , May 3rd, 2017 10:11

With Slowdive reformed and about to release their fourth album (as well as playing Field Day and Roskilde), Neil Halstead tells Joe Clay about the gateway albums that influenced him the most. Photo by Ingrid Pop.

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AR Kane – 69
Like the Cocteaus, there isn't another record that sounds like 69. It's a really dark record. It has all this dark space, negative space. The sound is almost empty, sucked in. For me, the attraction was, 'What the fuck are they doing with those guitars?' And those crazy vocals that are really disembodied. But then 'Baby Milk Snatcher' is just a fucking great tune – within that weird universe there's still something you can grab hold of. I listened to it a few weeks ago and it still doesn't sound like anything, before or since. It doesn't get the props it deserves. And then they went and did 'Pump Up The Volume'! I heard that on the radio the other day. If you take the vocals off it, you can hear it's an AR Kane record. There's a wicked guitar on it.